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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744457">to never giving up</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisttsitra03/pseuds/artisttsitra03'>artisttsitra03</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Freeform, Read at Your Own Risk, pls be nice to me this is my first she ra fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:27:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,458</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744457</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisttsitra03/pseuds/artisttsitra03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Maybe you’re here to help us."</p><p>"She would return to us in the hour of our greatest need."</p><p>For so many years, Adora has been fighting along the wrong side of the war, and because so, for so many years, Etheria has suffered with her help. Now that she has a magical sword, she has to try to redeem herself. The world needs She-Ra, not Adora, the girl who hurt this world and the people so badly. She had to make things right, she had to try. Even if it meant turning her back against her home? No, not the Fright Zone, no, it meant turning her back on her world. Her everything.</p><p>But Adora is the only one who can do this, it’s her duty to do this. She made a commitment.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Bow &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Warmth and Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>based around S1 E4</p><p>so i wrote this with some intense emotions, please be careful</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adora had always imagined all types of beautiful sceneries, all which were nothing like the Fright Zone. But to see the Whispering Woods from above, to see the Kingdom of <em> Bright Moon </em> from above, well, it was just breathtaking.</p><p> </p><p>She had seen it already actually, sitting on top of a winged beast, flying through the sky like that was definitely some first experience. Adora smiled, she had loved soaring above everything, it was exhilarating, even if it was kinda terrifying.</p><p> </p><p><em> Bright Moon! I can’t believe it. </em> Adora beamed to herself, walking around her room for the third time. <em> Bright Moon’s Kingdom! I met the Queen, and I’m friends with Princess Glimmer and Bow. I met Madame Razz, and I have a horse with wings. I know the layout of the castle, I also met some guards. I went on a tour of the castle, and I got to see a giant dining hall that smells absolutely amazing. Oh, and I’m a part of the Rebellion!  </em></p><p> </p><p>Adora makes her way past the small waterfall in her room, and onto the balcony where she can perfectly see the sun setting. There’s a small warm feeling in her chest, and Adora simply smiles. She leans against the railing of the balcony, letting her head rest on her arms. Such a warm feeling. Closing her eyes, Adora melts into this moment, relishing every single second.</p><p> </p><p><em> Wow, </em> she breathes out. <em> I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on experiencing all of this. It’s amazing, this is all so amazing. </em></p><p> </p><p>Adora knows there’s a breeze before she can feel it from the sound of the trees rustling down below. A couple of seconds later, she feels the wind, it hits her legs first, then her arms, a shiver running down her spine. Off in the distance, Adora can hear a roar, or maybe a howl? No matter, it makes Adora open her eyes, and she raises her head to glance at the sunset one last time. It’s not until she says goodbye to the faint flicker of rays of sunlight fall below the horizon, that she heads back into her room, deciding to settle in for the night, or at least try to settle.</p><p> </p><p>Turning away, she walks past her sword lying on the desk, and she reaches her hand out to give it a small touch at the point of the sword. Adora runs two fingers down the blade all the way to the hilt, her attention pausing at the gem located in the center of the sword. She’s mesmerized.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Adora. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adora nearly takes a step back, shocked. She swore the sword whispered her name.</p><p> </p><p>Building up the courage, Adora takes a step closer to the sword, standing right beside it, curious. She rubs her thumb against the smoothness of the gem. She’s fixated on the sword. Her eyes shine, it doesn’t register to Adora that the gem does the same. <em> Whoa. </em>It’s almost as if Adora feels complete, as if something has been missing. A part of her, found at last, and Adora wants to believe that she’s whole.</p><p> </p><p>A small shiver runs down her spine, extending all the way down to the heels of her feet, her body feels cold. </p><p> </p><p>Something feels off. Why does something feel off?</p><p> </p><p><em> She Ra, </em>Adora thought, biting her bottom lip. </p><p> </p><p><em> She Ra, </em> the name echoing in her head. <em> They say she’s a legendary warrior, capable of rare magical powers. Wow, she’s super powerful, I mean, she </em> <b> <em>is </em> </b> <em> an 8-foot tall warrior who has a massive sword. She’s a princess, literally called the Princess of Power. She’s also the defender of Etheria, it’s protector. She has to protect the planet from the Horde. She has to defeat the Horde. Destroy the Horde. She - </em>Adora pauses, frowning.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She Ra is me. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> And I am She Ra.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adora has to lean against the desk, the breath completely knocked out of her. She falls to the ground, her hand clutching her chest. It literally came out of nowhere, and it left Adora on her knees gasping for air. She can’t stop the loud pounding in her ear drums, she swears it’s from her heart thumping in her chest. Adora covers her ears, pain shooting through her entire body. She can’t breathe. Why can’t she breathe? </p><p> </p><p>She’s breathing quick now, sharp inhaleexhale, another inhaleexhale, the pace picking up, and another inhaleexhale, and another inhaleexhale. Wrapping her arms around herself, Adora curls inward, trying to calm her breathing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Just breathe.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> I am fucking trying. </em> Adora coughs, clutching on her chest. <em> Nothing is working! </em></p><p> </p><p>There’s a tight knot in her lungs, it’s not helping the situation. Pain shoots through her body again and her chest is hurting from breathing so many short breaths. Her breathing is picking up, another inhaleexhale. She’s trying anything, please, just anything to help her breathe normally again. Another inhaleexhale. Everything is happening all too fast for her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> What’s happening? Why is this happening? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s not until Adora feels small tears roll down her cheeks to realize she can’t do anything. Nothing is working.</p><p> </p><p><em> Try counting mice, </em>something so small says in the back of her mind.</p><p> </p><p>And so, Adora does it. She closes her eyes and watches as small individual mice scurry across the blank space in her head. She counts them, and she counts all the way to 34 before she can breathe a smooth inhale and exhale. Releasing herself, Adora tries to stand, successful but with a small wobble in her legs.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, after a couple of seconds, Adora’s standing, but she’s leaning on her knees for support. <em> What just happened? Did I just have a panic attack from thinking about She Ra? Why does thinking about She Ra stress me out? </em>Shaking her head, she forces herself to take a deep breath. She releases the breath, it comes out a little shaky, but she rolls with it.</p><p> </p><p><em> Calm down. </em>Adora repeats in her head. </p><p> </p><p>She takes a couple of steps forward, trying to get the blood back into her legs. Pacing. She needs to start pacing, that’ll help her. That’s what Adora does anytime she can and whenever she can. It gets her thoughts racing, gets her to think.</p><p> </p><p>What Adora didn’t think about was that pacing <em> used </em> to be a good coping mechanism, she didn’t have to think about a lot in the past. Well she did think a lot, just about one thing. But in light of recent events, there was quite a bit to think about, and it was all beginning to hit her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> No. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adora can’t stop the small build of anxiety in her stomach. <em> Please no. Try not thinking about it. </em>She stops walking.</p><p> </p><p>She’s alone, again. The last time she was alone, she ended up turning her horsie - Swift Wind - into a magical beast with wings. Not mentioning she also destroyed a small training camp and made everyone go into a panic. But then there’s the fact that she barged into a Horde camp <em>all by herself</em> and destroyed several tanks and a supply tent.</p><p> </p><p><em> Okay, but you stormed the Horde all by yourself, and no, Razz does not count. </em> Adora thought to herself, and she closes her eyes. <em> God, I ran into Horde territory all by my dumb self, and if Razz wasn’t there then things could’ve gone very wrong. I made a stupid decision, I can’t make shit decisions like that, I can’t. Adora, you’re gonna get trouble if you made stupid decisions. </em> Adora tells herself. The anxiety comes back, and Adora can’t help but groan.</p><p> </p><p>It feels like she’s doing everything wrong.</p><p> </p><p><em> What’s happening to me? </em> Adora bites down on her thumb, her eyebrows furrowing, the words echoing throughout her head. <em> Madame Razz said something about someone, someone named Meera? Maybe Mera, yeah no. No, Mara, that’s her name. Yeah, who is Mara? And I think she had something to do with the sword, did she have the sword before me? Is there a way for me to contact Mara? What happened to Mara? How old is Razz? What does she know about the sword? </em></p><p> </p><p><em> Stop! </em>Adora tells herself, she takes a slow death breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop this, Adora.” She says slowly, dragging a hand across her face. “You’re stressing me out, and it’s driving me insane.” Adora tells herself. There’s a small weight on her shoulders that disappear, but still a weight.</p><p> </p><p>She lets her head drop and her shoulders slump forward. Adora sneaks a glance towards the door, and she sighs. It’s closed, it’s still shut. Still looking the same when Glimmer left to go back to her own room. Adora scoffs. <em> I can’t believe people have their own rooms here. I never imagined that I’d have my own room, but here I am, standing in my own fucking room. </em>Turning away, Adora walks toward her bed, and kicks her boots off. Her bed, her giantpoofyreallysupersoft bed, and it intimidates her? Clenching her jaw, Adora dismisses the feeling and takes a leap onto the bed, and within seconds, yep, she’s swallowed. Everything’s hugging her, she’s being pushed into such a tight space, it’s getting extremely uncomfortable for her.</p><p> </p><p>“Help!” Adora struggles, clawing her way to sit up.</p><p> </p><p>Adora grunts, managing to throw a couple of pillows of the bed, she needs to throw more off. <em>Now. </em>Anything to make the space more bearable. Unable to balance on the bed, Adora falls backwards, her hand reaches and grabs onto the bed sheets. There’s just so much shit on this bed, ugh, why is this stressing her out? It’s getting a bit hard to breathe all of a sudden, <em>fuck, why the hell is it getting hard to breathe again? </em>It doesn’t register in Adora’s head just how tight she’s gripping the sheets until feathers start flying upward.</p><p> </p><p>Wow, the universe just loved making Adora’s life a little fucked up sometimes.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes widen, “Fuck fuck fuck, shit shit, no no no, go back in.”</p><p> </p><p>Adora tries to shove the feathers back inside, but she accidentally makes it worse by tearing the hole bigger, allowing feathers to simply pour out all over the bed. A puff of white hits her in the face, Adora internally screams and scrambles off the bed, shaking excess feathers off. She can finally breathe, but there’s an itchiness literally itching its way up her body, Adore shudders.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Fuck </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Quickly backing away, Adora looks at her bed, frowning. It was such a strange bed to Adora, in all honesty. Why can’t it be a simple normal mattress, like a flat mattress? She’ll have to make a note to get one somehow, who would she even talk to to get one? No matter, that was something to deal with another day. Sighing, Adora walks over to a small seat along the balcony.</p><p> </p><p>Her thoughts rush back to the bed, to the size of it. <em> Why do I have to sleep alone? </em> Adora thought, lying on the bench. It was too big for her, there was too much empty space around her. Groaning, she tosses onto her other side, she can’t sleep like this. She can’t sleep alone.</p><p> </p><p>All of a sudden, there’s a pit forming in her stomach.</p><p> </p><p>She closes her eyes, and pushes her head further into the pillow. There’s a small part of her, wishing, wanting, missing that warmth at the end of her feet, sometimes against her legs, sometimes against her chest. Adora bites down on her lip and squeezes her eyes harder. She can’t stop the memories of Catra flashing in her head.</p><p> </p><p><em> Catra </em>.</p><p> </p><p>The memories of her best friend sitting next to her in the mess hall, laughing as they pulled yet another successful prank.</p><p> </p><p>The memories of racing to the forgery, a particular memory popping into her head, the one where Catra falls into a puddle.</p><p> </p><p>But the one that is still fresh in Adora’s head is the last memory she has of Catra. She can feel the sting of tears behind her eyes. Sniffling, Adora pulls her knees to her chest to cover her head. Suddenly everything felt as if it was on fire as Adora quietly let out the faintest sobs. <em> Catra, I’m sorry. I never meant to betray you. I never meant to abandon you. I’m sorry, but I have to do what’s right. </em></p><p> </p><p>-</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“<em> Duh, you just figured that out? Manipulation is what the Horde’s all about, Shadow Weaver and Hordak have manipulated us our entire lives. It’s how they’ve always controlled us. How are you just now seeing this? I thought you were smarter than that.” </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “You knew?” Adora’s eyes widen. “All this time, you knew we were making the wrong choices. You knew we were fighting on the wrong side all of this time.” Adora says firmly, watching Catra take a step backwards. “I’m not going back Catra, I can’t, I won’t. I have to make things right, I have to try.” Adora looks at her, and Catra’s face says it all. It says that Adora is betraying her, leaving her - Catra’s hurt, angry, confused, and sad. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Catra looks away, her lips trembling, Adora has to hold herself to not pull her into a hug. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “So you’re going to leave me.” It’s not a question. “I always thought it would only be the two of us, doing everything together. And the fact that you’re leaving me for some dumb people you just met, wow. You could have just told me you never liked me.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Confused, Adora tries to explain, “Catra -” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I’ve been abandoned before Adora, I’m used to the feeling. I just never expected it from you, I don’t know what happened to you. I guess I didn’t know you at all.” Catra narrows her eyes, her arms crossed. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> Adora clenches her jaw, her hands ball up into a fist. This is </em> Catra <em> , Adora has to remind herself. Catra’s response to everything that hurts her is hatred, anger controls her. She doesn’t mean it, Catra doesn’t think when she’s hurt. Adora has to bite the inside of her lip to keep from crying. If that’s how it is, then ok. They can’t be having this conversation right now, not in the middle of a battle right now. “I don’t know what happened to me either, but I’m not sorry that it did happen.” An explosion goes off in the distance, and Adora panics. Glimmer and Bow, she hopes they’re doing okay. There’s screaming off in the distance, Adora turns - the need to help surges through her body. She takes a step forward - </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <b> <em>ZAP</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Adora falls to the ground, her body shaking violently. Her muscles spaz, ugh, everything feels like jello. “I’m sorry!” Yeah right, Catra’s never sorry. She barely gets a glare over her shoulder at Catra, who’s holding a taser stick, but what surprises Adora the most is Catra’s wide eyes. It’s as if Catra can’t believe she actually did it. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Catra takes a step towards Adora, her grip on the taser tightening. If Catra was going to back down at all, she showed no signs of doing so. There’s a growing hole in the pit of Adora’s stomach. “Catra please, don’t do this.” She begs, struggling to raise herself up on her arms. Her entire body feels wobbly. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> “I have to!” Catra screams, and Adora immediately looks at her. Catra’s eyebrows furrow as she points “Shadow Weaver won’t get off my ass until I bring you back home. She won’t stop, and that means I won’t stop. So here’s how it’s going to go, I’m going to either tase you again, and bring you back myself, or you can walk on your own.” Catra bends down, hovering just above Adora. She pauses, Adora can see Catra’s jaw tighten. “I </em> <b> <em>am</em> </b> <em> going to bring you back to the fucking Fright Zone, Adora, whether you like it or not. Get over this dumb fucking charade of yours and let’s get going. Shadow Weaver’s already on my ass enough.” Catra drags a finger, her claw extended, down Adora’s arm. It’s not deep enough to draw blood, but it’ll leave a faint mark. “Let’s go home already.” </em></p><p> </p><p><em> Catra removes her hand, there’s a sting left behind. Adora has to bite the inside of her mouth, hard. The spot where Catra touched her feels as if it was on fire, but there’s more. There’s a burn, her skin feels as if it’s burning. Everything’s hot for Adora. She can’t think straight, not when Catra is like </em> <b> <em>this</em> </b> <em> . </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Adora opens her mouth to say something but a bright pink puff hits Catra right in the face. “Adora!” She hears someone yell, and turning her head she sees Bow and Glimmer charging towards them on a horse. There’s a warmth building in her chest, but it disappears when she watches Bow shoot an arrow at Catra, trapping her in a net. Catra screams. Adora’s attention changes when Glimmer suddenly appears by her side, a hand softly grabbing her arm, “We have to go now!” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Another explosion goes off somewhere nearby, and it panics the horse. “I’ll try to give you guys some time! Go!” Bow yells, as he hits a Horde soldier with a piece of scrap metal. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Get away from her!” She hears Catra yell, but Glimmer had other ideas. Adora feels the familiar tingling sensation as she’s teleported away, and she hears her name faintly called, the sound echoing in the wind. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> - </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Everyone retreat! Retreat!” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Adora’s vision becomes blurry, and she brings a hand up to the side of her head. The sounds around her slowly disappear as she falls to her knees, she grips onto the handle of the sword. The transformation is gone, the magic disappearing. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She successfully transformed into She Ra, she did it. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> But nothing matters to Adora right now, not when she can feel the beat of her heart in her chest, the pounding of it, the pounding in her head. Adora feels as if she needs to throw up, eating all of that food during the festival was a bad idea. Her stomach doesn’t feel too well. Groaning, Adora opens her eyes and sees blue and gold eyes looking at her. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Staring at her, staring as if Adora was prey. Adora opens her mouth to call for her, but Catra’s eyes become as vertical as possible, ears pointed. Adora freezes, she feels very small right now. Adora holds her breath, the grip on her hilt tightening.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Catra barely parts her mouth, but immediately closes it as she takes several steps backwards. Adora can feel tears forming behind her eyes, and she finally realizes that this is the moment. She’s been too occupied to even think, but this is it. She’s turning her back on Catra, or maybe Catra’s turning her back on Adora. She doesn’t know anything right now. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Adora’s grip tightens as she watches Catra shake her head and turn away, leaving. She left her. Catra turned her back away from Adora, but why? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Why does it feel as if Adora betrayed Catra? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> - </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Shaking her head, Adora drifts her gaze away from the window, wiping the fresh tears from her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Sniff<em> . </em> Sniff <em> . </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Don’t think about her. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>There’s a gentle breeze in the air, it’s not cold at all. Looking up, Adora rubs the back of her hands to her eyes, taking in the sight of the moon. The moon’s so beautiful. Hearing the night bugs finally come out, Adora sighs. She had to go to bed soon, it was getting late. Chewing on her bottom lip, Adora looks at the door, still closed, still unmoved. “Fuck,” she whispers, walking towards it. </p><p> </p><p>Adora rustles her hair, letting a few feathers fall, the itchy sensation still tingling all over her body. “Glimmer,” Adora quietly calls out, opening the door. The only reply Adora receives is the creaking of the door and faint footsteps down the hallway. She takes a breath, and steps out of her bedroom. </p><p> </p><p>“Psssssssst, Glimmer!” Adora calls out again, walking down the left side of the hallway. “Glimmer! I think I broke my bed! Glimmer!” She walks further down the corridor. </p><p> </p><p>“Princess Glim-”</p><p> </p><p>“AHH!” Adora has to clamp her hand over her mouth, eyes wide.</p><p> </p><p>She turns around, while the guard clears their throat. “I was saying that Princess Glimmer’s room is just down the hall, two more doors on the left.” A royal guard calmly says. They’re standing outside a door, Adora doesn’t pay much attention to it. She tries to slow her heart rate down while the guard points their staff in the direction. Adora gives them a small nod, muttering a quiet thanks.</p><p> </p><p>Looking around carefully, the castle looks much different at night compared to the daylight. Earlier in the day, there were just so many people, it kind of made Adora stressed out. But now it being late in the evening, she can take her time walking around, not having to be rushed at all. Passing a window, a small shine catches Adora’s eyes. Coming to a stop, she turns her full attention towards it, and sees a mixture of colors all wrapped together in the glass. <em> Wow, it’s so beautiful, </em>Adora thought. After that, she makes sure to pause at each window, admiring the handiwork of colors. There wasn’t anything like this back in the Fright Zone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The Fright Zone. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adora shudders, but presses on her walk. She passes a small hallway on her right, raising a hand to her eyes to shield a faint light at the end. Squinting her eyes, Adora quickly walks over to the wall, learning against it. She peers around the corner, trying to get a better view.</p><p> </p><p>It’s Queen Angella.</p><p> </p><p>She’s just standing alone, but her attention is on the wall in front of her, she looks deep in thought. In her hands, the Queen holds a ball of magical light, and Adora’s eyes slowly gaze up to where the Queen’s looking, but she can’t see much from the distance she’s standing.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on out, Adora, I know you’re there.” The Queen calls out, not even looking in her direction. Scared once again, Adora nearly jumps out of her socks.</p><p> </p><p>On command, Adora rounds the corner, and carefully walks down the hallway towards Her Majesty, her hands rubbing at her sides. The Queen stares in her direction, but says nothing more. “Hi, sorry, hello! Good evening Your Majesty, uh, Queen Angella, ma’am!.” Adora fumbles, quickly giving a bow, her hands clamping into fists. <em> Oh no, I’m sweating! </em>Adora attempts a small smile, but it ends up being a crooked one. Her Majesty doesn’t look so pleased, but lets out a small hum before turning away. Adora stresses for a second, and tries to lightly laugh it off. She swats at a tickle at her chest and arms, a few feathers drifting to the ground. Yet again, the Queen doesn’t move a single muscle, Adora frowns.</p><p> </p><p>Straightening up, Adora raises her eyebrows while turning to take in the sight before them. There’s a figure on the wall, a massive figure, and they’re holding a staff with a crescent moon at the top of it. She clears her throat, but the Queen’s eyes don’t move from the mural. “So uh, so what’re you doing here, um, Your Majesty? It’s, um, you know, really late at night.” Adora asks, fumbling once again. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> This is not going so well.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“When I get restless at night, I like to walk around until I find myself here, standing in front of this mural. Looking at this, helps me cast my worries away, it’s peaceful for me, to be near this.” Queen Angella softly says, raising her hand. The light at her palm shines brighter with more energy, and Adora can fully see the art on the wall. Her Majesty’s eyes look sad, Adora notices, as if there’s a light missing from them. Adora opens her mouth, to ask about the importance of the mural, but the Queen beats her to it. “This is a mural of King Micah, my husband. He passed away many years ago, killed by the Horde. He was one of the first casualties for the Rebellion.” Her voice is so soft and quiet, Adora thought she may be crying as well.</p><p> </p><p><em> King Micah. He died because of the war against the Horde. He was Queen Angella’s husband, Glimmer’s dad. </em>Adora shuts her eyes and takes a breath, opening.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, for your loss. I know I’ve been fighting on the wrong side of the war, but I’m going to try to make it up to Etheria, I promise. I won’t stop until the Horde’s defeated. I have to make things right.” Adora promises, not only to Her Majesty but to herself. She holds her breath.</p><p> </p><p>She needs to make things right, it’s her duty to.</p><p> </p><p>A silent moment passes, Her Majesty finally tears her eyes away from the mural and stares straight at Adora, her expression firm. “<em> You </em> have been fighting against us for years, <em> you </em> have destroyed so many villages and towns, but <em> you, </em> Adora. You have been vouched for, and by my own daughter. <em> You </em> may be She Ra, but you’re still <em> Adora </em> .” Adora looks away, but the Queen presses on. “You may have pledged your allegiance to us, Adora, and you may have Glimmer and Bow by your side, but <em> you </em> are still a soldier of the Horde. You may not believe it, but it’s ingrained into you. Glimmer trusts you, Adora, despite your background with the Horde. And because I love my daughter very much, I am trusting you as well. Do not make me regret this decision, Adora. Do not disappoint Glimmer, and do not disappoint me.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Don’t be so weak. </em> </p><p> </p><p>Adora can almost hear Shadow Weaver’s voice penetrating the back of her head, but she ignores the voice. She won’t be controlled. Clenching her fists, Adora pushes herself to be brave. She has to stand for herself, she’s not going to back down, especially not to the Queen. She turns back towards Her Majesty and stares her in the eyes, chest puffed, and her head held up high.</p><p> </p><p> “I won’t.”</p><p> </p><p>For once, Adora sees the Queen smile. A genuine smile! It fills Adora’s chest up with such warmth, Adora smiles back. <em> And that’s the best I can do. </em> Adora quickly bows. “Have a good night Your Majesty, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, she excuses herself and makes her way to find Glimmer’s room.</p><p> </p><p>Walking back down the same hallway, Adora continues on, trying to remember if she needed to pass one more or two more doors on the left. But that quickly disappears once she’s standing in front of a massive door, there’s a familiarness to it. Smiling, Adora approaches the door and quietly opens it, and enters the room, a soft click behind her. “Glimmer?” She whispers into the darkness, but there’s no reply. Sighing, she takes a couple of steps into the room, her eyes slow to adjust to the darkness. Adora grunts, her chest hitting what she thinks is a stepping stone, part of Glimmer’s floating staircase to her floating bed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Huh, her floating bed?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>With ease, Adora manages to get up onto the staircase, cursing under breath. <em> Why does Glimmer need a fucking floating bed? Why can’t she have a normal and simple bed on the ground, like regular people? Oh, because she’s a princess, that’s why! </em>She hears faint rustling above her on the bed, freezing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> You’re a princess too, Adora. Don’t forget that. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Softly slapping the palm of her hand to her cheek, Adora rolls her eyes at herself, moving once again. Climbing up to the last step, she can see the bed, hearing soft snoring. Adora registers a small pinkish lump on the bed, a small smile on her lips. “Booow, gimmie some cake, you’re hogging,” Glimmer quietly whines, rolling onto her side. Adora can see her eyes are still closed, and her smile grows wider.</p><p> </p><p>“Glimmer. Glimmer, it’s me, Adora. Can I sleep with you please, I think I broke my bed.” Adora whispers, climbing up onto the bed. The mattress is fluffy, but not as much as Adora’s broken one. There’s no response from Glimmer, just another whine, so Adora decides to take it as a yes, stretches over sleeping Glimmer, trying so hard to stay quiet but struggling to get to the other side of the bed. The amount of pure fluff the bed consists of almost gives Adora another anxiety attack, but she’s able to control it just a bit, now that she has Glimmer beside her. Now that she’s about settled down on the bed, Adora lays on her side, facing towards Glimmer, closing her eyes. The sleep pulls Adora away, pulling her into a deep slumber.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “You left me, Adora. How could you do this to me? After everything we’ve been through, growing up beside each other, with each other. We always had each other’s backs, and now you’re just going to leave me. We made promises to each other. I trusted you, Adora.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Do not disappoint us, Adora. Glimmer trusts you to help us win this war, once and for all. Most importantly, do not disappoint me. If you do anything to hurt us, hurt Glimmer, I will hunt you down myself. You may be the Princess of Power, but I am still a Queen.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “You are nothing, Adora! You must act with your head, not your heart. You cannot become weak, you cannot let these emotions control you. You are strong, my child. You are special. Do not let these people lower than you get in your way. They are just pieces in the game.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> - </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I trust you, Adora. Even though you used to be a Horde soldier, you’re not anymore. You’re right where you belong, here with the Rebellion, here with us. You saved our lives so many times already, and we just met you. You’re an amazing person, Adora. Give people time, and they’ll start seeing you the same way. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> We’ve always got your back. We’re right behind you, all the time. We’re not going to leave you, not anytime soon at least. We’re not going to judge you of your past, you’ve walked away from it. We trust you, we’re not going to let anything happen to you. We’re the best friends squad, remember? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> - </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Whoa whoa, hey, it’s okay, calm down, and slow your words.” Glimmer takes a hold of Adora’s hands, looking her straight in the eyes, her breath caught in her throat. Adora can’t look away. </p><p> </p><p>Groaning, Adora drops her shoulders. “Sorry, I’m not used to all this, and I guess I’m stressing out. I’m sorry for bothering you, I didn’t mean to ruin your morning.” </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to apologize because you so didn’t!” Adora feels Glimmer’s hand tighten with such - excitement? Glimmer lets out a small laugh, a sparkle in her eyes. “Besides! Look at us, staying in bed for another ten minutes is so far worth it! But -” Adora feels circles being rubbed on her hands, and she smiles. Taking a chance, Glimmer presses on, “- do you wanna talk about it? About whatever’s on your mind right now?”</p><p> </p><p>Adora chews on her lip. There’s so much on her mind, where would she even start? Bed? Her Majesty? The constant anxiety she’s carrying now. Her panic attack with She Ra? A woman named Mara? Catra?</p><p> </p><p><em> Catra </em>?</p><p> </p><p>“Adora?” She looks up, and sees Glimmer staring at her, concerned with her eyebrows furrowed. “Are you okay? Do you need water?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I’m okay. I just broke my bed sometime last night, so I came down to your room, but then I got caught by your mom!” An image of Queen Angella glaring at her flashes through Adora’s mind. She groans, “I really think your mom doesn’t like me. Like, for real doesn't like me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course she likes you! Why would you think she doesn’t?” Adora looks away, pursing her lips.  “Hey, I know she can be pretty intense sometimes, maybe even over protective.” Glimmer says slowly, scooting a bit closer to her. Adora smiles. “But she’ll warm up soon, I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>There’s just something so calming about Glimmer, Adora can’t put her tongue on it. Maybe it’s the excessive amount of sparkles? “Okay, so, don’t tell Bow this, but I’m going to try and convince my mom to let us go on some new missions. And maybe, just recruit some other princesses! But don’t tell Bow yet, not yet! Oh I’m so excited Adora!” Glimmer squeals, little sparkle bombs popping off her. Then, she takes Adora’s hands into her own again, and looks right at her. “She’ll trust you soon, Adora. Just give her some time,” and Adora nods.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good, now let’s go and get ready for the day, I have a good feeling about something.” Glimmer winks, a small sparkle bouncing onto Adora’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, I’m so fucking <em> tired </em>, I can’t wait until we get back to Bright Moon.” Bow expresses, slumping his shoulders. He closes his eyes, and falls on his butt, ignoring the pain - as if there was any. He had just fought off three, maybe four Horde soldiers? Two soldiers sounded right.</p><p> </p><p>The three of them had just made it back to their little hideout, retrieving their packs. They were standing on a hill, looking down at the Horde camp they had just won back. Adora smiles, her eyes dashing down to her sword.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m beat too, can I take a nap when we get back?” Adora asks, laughing lightly. She scratches the back of her neck - yeah she’s going to need to shower too. Maybe take a bath? She walks over to a bush and retrieves her pack, checking it.</p><p> </p><p>Blanket? Check. Water bottle? Check. Bandages? Check.</p><p> </p><p>Adora hears Bow hum in agreement, his eyes still closed. Faint voices can be heard in the distance, laughter and cries. Everyone’s happy with their newfound courage, Plumeria regaining their lost land from the Horde. </p><p> </p><p>Glimmer appears right next to her, and surprisingly, Adora doesn’t flinch. She’s getting used to her teleporting randomly. “AH, you guys!” She throws her bag to the ground, and jumps up in the air, sparkles flying everywhere, Adora smiles. “Just you wait until I tell my mom! You guys, she’s going to be so excited and so proud of us! So proud of you, Adora! Bow! We just recruited someone into the Rebellion! Mom is soooo going to let us go on more missions now. Yes!!”</p><p> </p><p>There’s a squeal from Bow. “Uhh, Glimmer? Remember we promised your mom to not get involved with the Horde? Like, promising under no circumstances, to not get involved, because I do. And if I remember correctly, we’re going to get in serious trouble, cause you know, we kinda did destroy a Horde camp.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did you hear yourself Bow?! We destroyed a Horde camp!! And we healed Perfuma’s kingdom. Well, not us, you know, Adora did that.”</p><p> </p><p><em> I defeated the Horde, and saved the Kingdom, healed the land. I did it! </em>Adora beams, her chest puffed, her chin held high.</p><p> </p><p>Glimmer continues, “but we did it! Also, you know, with the help of Perfuma and everyone else of course. Also, we don’t have to tell my mom everything. Just the important bits, you know, we convinced Perfuma to take back her land, and we got her to join the Rebellion. See? Important bits, nothing about charging into a Horde camp.” With that, Glimmer smiles and bends down to grab her pack. She heads back into the woods, “let’s go back home now, I’m starving.”</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, Bow shakes his head and gathers to his feet, following after her. It’s getting late now, best if they get going. Adora bends down to grab her pack and sword, but a bright pink flower blooms right on it. She turns around, smiling. Perfuma was standing at the entrance of their tent, a green flower crown looped around her arm, a parting gift. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you so much again, Adora.” Perfuma cheers, gracefully walking over to her. She places the delicate crown on her head, so gentle. “You helped me become brave, brave enough to fight for my kingdom, for the Rebellion.” Perfuma’s eyes shine, her smile so loving and warm. </p><p> </p><p>She wraps Adora into a tight hug. “Thank you, Perfuma,” is all Adora can say to her.</p><p> </p><p>Adora hears Glimer call for her, and she takes that as her cue. Looking back at Perfuma, Adora raises her hand, but Perfuma beats her to it, raising her whole arm to wave goodbye. “Safe travels back home everyone! I can’t wait until the next time I see you guys, it’ll be so amazing!”</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On their way home, Glimmer nudges Adora on the shoulder, a bright smile on her face. “My mom’s going to be really proud of you, you did great, Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a warmth touching Adora’s cheeks, and she softly smiles. “You think so?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer nods, linking arms with hers. Their paces match each other. “I know so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Acceptance and Reassurance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Maybe you’re here to help us."</p><p>"She would return to us in the hour of our greatest need."</p><p>For so many years, Adora has been fighting along the wrong side of the war, and because so, for so many years, Etheria has suffered with her help. Now that she has a magical sword, she has to try to redeem herself. The world needs She-Ra, not Adora, the girl who hurt this world and the people so badly. She had to make things right, she had to try. Even if it meant turning her back against her home? No, not the Fright Zone, no, it meant turning her back on her world. Her everything.</p><p>But Adora is the only one who can do this, it’s her duty to do this. She made a commitment.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>based around S1 E5</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>All anyone could see was black smoke in the Fright Zone, it filled the skies for miles. There’s the echo of machinery and engines throughout the whole region, it’s what anyone would hear at this late at night. But if someone were to dwell deep into the base and listen closely, they might make out a faint noise from inside the Black Garnet chamber. And maybe, if they crept close to the entrance and perhaps peered in, they’d see nothing else but a dark figure and red sparks of magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The air was so cold, almost too cold to even breathe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shivers would run down their spine as they gazed inside, it’d be a mistake if they walked in. Whispers could be heard, but it was too quiet to make it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whispers from Shadow Weaver.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hiss came from her body as she snapped her fingers, black magic seething into the gem on her forehead. It was painful for her to demand the dark magic, but it was necessary. “Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>you, Adora? You cannot hide from me, you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> hide from me. I will find you, and I will bring you back home.” Shadow Weaver whispers, almost a laugh at the tip of her mouth. She grips the sides of the pit to keep her sane, shadows creeping off her body. The clip of Adora running around in the Horde Camp repeats in her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Soon</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that Shadow Weaver knew about She Ra, Adora was the only thing on her mind. She couldn’t get her out of her head, it was an obsession almost. She wouldn’t let her get away from her, from where she truly belonged. Shadow Weaver lets go of the mirroring pit, and clenches her fists, concentrating. Any darkness that’s settled within the chamber snakes itself towards Shadow Weaver, and begins to climb her body, wrapping around her. Grunting, she moves through the pain and continues. “Now go! Find the child!” A crack of thunder echoes in the room, and small shadows, almost eel-like, scurry out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Breathing out, Shadow Weaver tries to soften her body, exhausted. Even with a strong connection to the Black Garnet, there was a price to pay for using its magic, she knew that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The clock was ticking now. It would only be a matter of hours until Adora was found, and she must be brought back. Without thinking, Shadow Weaver looks over her shoulder and ponders about Catra. Not in the way of caring, but in the way of how to use Catra to her disposal. Obviously, there was some sort of relationship between them, she always knew that. Shadow Weaver murmured under her breath, she’s been watching Catra ever since Adora’s abandonment, watching how she acts when Catra </span>
  <em>
    <span>sees </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora. Their relationship is hindering, falling apart. But to use that to her advantage, how so? Shadow Weaver wondered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a faint laugh that mixed with the sounds of machinery, but it was so faint.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora woke up before opening her eyes, only because she felt relief flood her entire body. It was quiet around her, no one in the castle was awake yet. She opened her eyes at the sound of birds singing outside her window, and softly smiled. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Today’s the day! We’re leaving today!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a couple of weeks since their successful relief mission to Plumeria, and now, Queen Angella had actually given them permission to go to Salineas! There was excitement bubbling in Adora’s chest, she had never seen the sea before, oh she was so excited. She turns to lay on her back, and looks up at the ceiling, her smile growing bigger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Traveling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t know she enjoyed traveling so much, especially with Bow and Glimmer. Adora loved traveling and experiencing new things about the planet, and not even mentioning she was making a change whilst traveling too. A good change. She’s been with the Rebellion for about a month now, and even though everything has been going well, Adora can’t help but feel regret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Regret about making the right choice?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no running away from the truth, she had to face it. She left everything behind, everything she grew up knowing and everyone she knew. Gritting her teeth, Adora shuts her eyes and slaps her hand to her forehead. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop! You’re doing the right thing, the Horde is evil and they’ve been destroying everything and everyone. It’s for the best, you’re okay.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was making the right choice. No matter how much it hurt, this was the right choice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Throwing the blanket off, she swung her legs off the bed. Finally, Adora was getting herself into a routine in the morning, different compared to what she did in the Horde. She didn’t have to rush herself or share things with everyone, it was all hers, and only hers. It was nice, definitely took time to get used to though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First thing Adora did after getting out of bed was to stretch her body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ever since transforming into She Ra on a regular basis, Adora had to keep her muscles loose and her body healthy. Of course, she always kept her body healthy, she was one of the best Horde soldiers, but Adora was dealing with magic consistently now. She had to maintain her body. Standing straight, Adora bends down to touch her toes, pushes herself to reach the floor. Her goal was to put her palm flat against the ground, she'll be there soon. She held the position for a minute, forcing herself to calmly breathe in and out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had added this to her routine about a week ago when Perfuma had stopped by Bright Moon a to give a report about her kingdom, and Adora had joined Perfuma for her meditation one morning. Ever since, she’s been doing it on her own, finding it super helpful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Straightening herself upward, she points up as far as her fingertips can reach, and stretches her arms, her palms. It feels good. Adora then extends her arms outward from her sides, and pushes herself to reach again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Breathe in</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Breathe out</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Knock knock</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shooting a look at the door, Adora calls out, “come in, the door’s open!” Without a second to spare, Bow walks in with a wide grin, and waves, she waves back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She straightens up, rolling her shoulders and wrists. She’d need to stretch out her lower back sometime today, but for now, it was enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He takes a seat in her desk chair, setting his backpack beside him on the floor. “Morning Adora! Get a good night’s sleep last night?” Bow’s room was next door to hers, and even though she got used to sleeping alone at night, he still tries to come by first thing in the morning. It was reassuring for her, she was thankful for Bow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I did, no nightmares this time,” Adora replied, grabbing a white long sleeve from her dresser. Bow hummed, his tongue peeking out of his mouth, and reached for an arrow from his quiver. Immediately, he pulls out a white handkerchief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightmares, the word echoes in Adora’s head as she forces down a swallow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was pleased that she woke up this morning stress free, well, besides the small growing feeling of regret. Shaking her head, she tries to breathe the thought away. “Do you know if Glimmer’s met with her mom yet? How soon can we get to Seaworthy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I actually think she’s still sleeping,” he said, groaning. It was still a bit early in the morning. Adora and Bow were just early risers compared to Glimmer, honestly compared to anyone else.  “Before coming over, I tried knocking on her door, and got no response. So, I don’t know.” Squawking, Bow takes a couple of more arrows, and displays them on the desk, inspecting each one carefully. Adora can hear him shuffling and murmuring to himself, hunched over her desk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think we should go check on Glimmer then? I know it’s early, but we should get ready to leave soon if we’re wanting to make it to Salineas today.” She calls over her shoulder, reaching down to put her boots on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment passes with no response from him, all she can hear is a buzzing sound. He didn’t hear her apparently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Curious, Adora puts her arms through the sleeves of her jacket, and walks over to him, eyebrows raised. “Um, Bow? What’re you doing?” She peeks over his shoulder, and sees a couple of arrows broken apart into bits and pieces. He has a small laser tool, welding different small parts together. A spark flies upward, almost hitting Adora in the face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow leans back, inspecting his handiwork, still no answer. Squinting his eyes, he dives back in with his tool, on a mission. “With Glimmer teleporting and using magic, and you having She Ra, I have to up my game and work on some new arrows. I’ve been working on these prototypes for a couple days now, I’d like to test them out when we encounter any Horde. Since we can officially go on missions now, I want to try to be ready for anything. Check this out Adora, it’s one of my new projects I’ve been working on, it’s a binding arrow.” He holds it up to Adora’s eyes, proudly smiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s something about Bow that Adora simply just admires, and it warms her chest. It might be because Adora had grown up completely ‘normal’ just like him, and so they could relate to one another somehow. Even if Adora had She Ra now, she grew up learning how to use her brain and body to fight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or it may be that Bow was the first one who actually gave her a chance at the beginning of all this. He saw the good in Adora when no one did. She was a Horde soldier, and they had just met, but he believed in her, still believes in her. Bow always had her back, no matter what, and she had his.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re best friends, Glimmer too of course, they’re the best friends squad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora gives Bow a smile back, and takes the arrow from him. It didn’t have an exterior layer on it, so Adora could get a closer look to what was actually inside it. There was a small compartment inside it, within it was some sort of green-black looking mold. “Looks, um neat?” Adora claimed, handing it back. She didn’t know what else to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You could say that. Inside the arrow is a molding agent that’ll explode onto the target I’m shooting at. It’ll stick to almost anything, but I’m still working on making it waterproof though, that’s its weakness.” Lowering it, Bow taps it with a different tool and puts all the pieces back together. Eagerly, he stands with his bow in hand, and pulls back on his drawstring, aiming. “Wanna see it in action?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, yeah, haha, no, I’m okay.” Adora shakes her head, backing away. Laughing, she reaches for her backpack beside her bed, and walks over to her desk. She shoves a couple of things into the bag, and looks over to him. Opening a drawer, she grabs a petite notebook to perhaps journal about things. “Maybe when we run into the Horde, you can show it to me then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cocking an eyebrow, Bow nods and lowers his arms and puts it away. “Yeah, sounds smart. It does take a while to clean up, I’ve had a couple of haha, messes in my room as of late, like really big messes. But at this rate, I think I’m going to have five or six binding arrows for our mission, I’m so stoked! I can’t wait until we get to Seaworthy, I heard there’s these crazy pirates that’ll-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small piece of gold immediately catches Adora’s attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of Bow’s voice fades away when Adora’s eyes lock onto her old belt, onto the Horde pin. She doesn’t know why she kept it, she just did. It was tucked away at the bottom of one of the drawers in the desk, she had forgotten about it actually, but now, she can’t tear her eyes away. There’s a cold wet trickle down her cheeks, and now everything’s flooding into her. She inhales a sharp breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You left me, you abandoned me. After everything we’ve been through, you left me to join some people you just met? Who are you?” Catra snarls at her, her teeth barring and she tightens her grip on Adora’s jacket collar. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know you anymore, I don’t want to know you anymore.” Adora’s eyes widen. “I don’t want you anymore, Adora.” Catra glares at her, puncturing each word and Adora can’t say anything.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Catra flares, Adora can see the anger seething from her. It’s almost as if Catra hates her now, the person she grew up with, her old best friend, she’s gone. Adora can feel her anger, she can feel everything.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shutting her eyes, Adora takes a step away from her desk, closing the drawer. It’s so painful, the  pounding in her chest is echoing in her ears. It’s so loud. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please not again. Breathe, just breathe. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she can’t breathe, she’s desperately gasping for air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, she feels hands rest on her arms, and Bow’s standing in front of her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bow.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Adora, hey, Adora, calm down. It’s okay, you’re okay.” He whispers, touching his forehead to hers. “Come on, breathe in with me, and breathe out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks at him with wide eyes, tears streaming down her face. She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t, I can’t - </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Adora,” Bow repeats, his hands cupping her face now. He’s looking straight at her, determined. She can’t look away, she won’t. “Look at me, you’re okay. Hey, look at me. Everything’s alright, you’re okay. It’s all okay, breathe with me. You’re okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m okay.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He touches his forehead to hers again, and she closes her eyes, trying to breathe in and out again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s okay to feel all of those emotions, Adora. You have to experience and go through it. It’s going to be hard and painful, you’re going to be hurt by all of it, but you’ll be okay. You will be okay. Just try to breathe and let it flow through and out of you.” Perfuma comments, leaning back to shift her weight back onto her knees. She had fixed Adora’s sitting posture to her standards.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s been about an hour since Perfuma came to her room this morning. They’re sitting out on Adora’s balcony, the sun almost rising above the treeline. The warmth from the sun has been settling on Adora’s skin for a while now, and with the fresh air, it makes her feel good, refreshed.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was their second session during Perfuma’s visit, who was happily willing to help. Perfuma sat right across from Adora, both wearing simple shorts and a light tank top. It felt pretty brisk outside, but it didn’t bother Adora, and apparently not to Perfuma either.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But Adora couldn’t help but feel small and vulnerable. She didn’t want to talk about these emotions she’s been feeling, it makes her feel weak. She clamps her eyes shut, frustrated with herself. “You’re focusing on all of your thoughts again, I can feel the negativity,” Perfuma points out, and Adora groans.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m sorry, I’m not doing anything right. This is so stupid, I feel stupid.” Adora mutters, pursing her lips. She sighs, and lets her head fall down in defeat.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Perfuma reaches out to comfort her, a hand resting on her shoulder. “You’re doing okay, just try it with me, okay? We can’t do much about what’s all running through your head, but we can try and do something about how you react to them right now. Start with letting the negative energy flow out of you, and breathe. Try it again, try to breathe.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It feels like an eternity until Adora opens her eyes, and Bow’s worryingly looking at her. He doesn’t say anything else, she’s grateful for that. She doesn’t know what to even say. Bow runs his hands up and down her arms, reassuring her once again. Adora takes a small step back to breathe, trying to calm her heart rate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of her muscles in her shoulders loosen when she releases one last deep breath. There’s just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>negativity built up inside Adora, it’s driving her crazy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You can do this, Adora. You can do it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She closes her eyes and tries to push the thoughts away, she’s not ignoring it, but accepting it. It’s a start. Oh, Perfuma would be so proud of her. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” She manages to say, a little shaky. Unclenching her fists, she takes another breath,  “thank you, Bow. Thank you for being here with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stepping back, Bow softly smiles at her. His hands slide down to take a hold of her hands, and he rubs them with his thumb. “I’ll always be here for you, always remember that. I got your back.” Bow reminds her, tightening his hold just a bit. She gives him a squeeze back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The warm feeling builds in Adora’s chest, and she pulls Bow into a tight hug, small tears streaming down her cheeks. “And I always have your back.” She murmurs into his neck, her arms tightening around him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hands rub at her back, not letting go just yet. “You’re okay, you’re going to be okay,” Bow quietly says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a promise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Alright, which arm do you think is your strongest?” Bow asks while flexing both of his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smiling, Adora rolls her eyes, not answering the question. She watches him sway from one leg to the other, pointing his arms in different directions, it looks like he’s simply flailing his arms honestly. “I think it’s my right arm, since you know, I’m right handed, and I shoot with my right arm, and I basically do everything with it. But of course, you know, my left arm is just as strong.” He says, squeezing his left arm’s bicep, Adora quietly laughs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you must ask yourself a question Bow, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> strong is your left arm? Please, put your strength to the test! Let’s see if you can beat the great Sea Hawk then!” Sea Hawk challenges, propping his leg up on the side of the ship. He points a finger at Bow with a big smile, and Adora </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> sees a small shine from his teeth. Gross?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora sighs, and prepares herself for another arm wrestling match. So far, she’s undefeated against Sea Hawk, 6-0, and also undefeated against Bow 4-0. Adora shows no mercy when it comes to arm wrestling. However, against Glimmer, her record stands at 1-1, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>because Glimmer used magic! What a little shit!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without further discussion, it was a mutual agreement to throw Glimmer out of the game, and completely ban her from participating. The three of them didn’t speak to her, simply giving her the cold shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s why now, Glimmer is sitting alone up near the ship’s boat wheel, she’s in timeout.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh ho ho, the great Sea Hawk?” Adora questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. She watches as he gives her a look and turns his head away from her, ignoring her. Her mouth drops, eyes narrowing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What a little shit! Why is everyone being a little shit today?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk walks over to Bow, who’s sitting at the small table on the ship. Ugh, here they go again. Adora crosses her arms and eyes the two of them, trying not to give too much attention to the match, but she’s still curious. “Please! Let’s see if you, Master Maker Bow, can handle these divine muscles of mine in a challenge of arm wrestling. May -” he takes a seat across from him. “- the best,” he takes a hold of Bow’s left hand. “- arm wrestler win!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And there they go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If anyone was far out in the ocean, the only thing they could hear was waves rustling, and oddly sounding grunts. Sighing, Adora kicks her feet up on the seat next to her, drawing her eyes away from the two boys. They’ve been going at this arm wrestling match for about six minutes now? Maybe a little longer than that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soft rocking of the boat makes Adora flutter her eyes, she’s getting a bit sleepy. She tilts her head to lean against the wall of the ship, nearly closing her eyes fully when Glimmer teleports in front of her, screaming. “Salineas is in sight!” Adora nearly jumps, but manages to only let out a small yelp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk on the other hand, who isn’t used to the teleportation, basically jumps out of his boots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thus, that lets Bow slam his arm down, winning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk lets out a scream in shock once again, widening his eyes. “Woohoo!” Adora hollers and  gives him a bump on the shoulder. “Way to go Bow!” She congratulates, giving him a high five. Bow laughs, raising his arms above his head in hooray. “Don’t sweat it, Sea Hawk. Not all of us can stay focused,” Adora says, laughing, and pats Sea Hawk on the back. He shoots her a look, frowning. Her smile falls a bit, watching as he climbs up the steps to the steering wheel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She mentally slaps herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, shouldn’t have said that.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, no more of this shit about arm wrestling. Let’s get back on the mission now.” Glimmer says, taking a look beyond the ship. “I don’t see any ships anywhere, it’s empty.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora walks over to the edge of the ship as well, peering in the direction of the kingdom. She’s in awe at the sight of Salineas, it’s so magnificent and grand. But her attention draws to how quiet it is, she can only hear the sound of seagulls calling in the distance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you think it’s a bit weird, that we don’t see anyone? Shouldn’t there be people on these beaches? What happened here?” Adora asks, worried. Her thoughts immediately jump to conclusions. She doesn’t remember seeing any Horde in the area from their meeting. What if they attacked in secret?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship sails closer, and with the expertise of their Captain Sea Hawk, they board right next to the port.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer immediately teleports onto the port a couple feet away, and Bow follows after by jumping off. “There’s no sign of the Horde, I don’t think they were attacked. Maybe pirates?” He says, putting away his bow. Sea Hawk throws a rope off the ship, and jumps off as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grunts in response, tying the rope into a perfect knot around a pole. “I’d know if something were to happen here, like I said, Princess Mermista and I are quite the friends.” Adora is the last to leave the ship, holding onto her sword as she jumps off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something’s off, Adora can feel it. She doesn’t know whether it’s her instincts telling her, or if it has anything to do her connection to magic, but she can definitely feel something. She reaches and clicks her sword to the belt on her back. “Lead the way Sea Hawk, we need to get going.” Adora pushes, walking in the direction of Salineas. It’s intimidating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think the people of Salineas really abandoned their own home?” Bow asks, looking around. Adora glances over her shoulder, shrugging.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now,” Sea Hawk began, leading them up a large stairway. “I may not be a Salinean, but I do know the people, and they are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> cowards!” He exclaims, pointing a finger to the sky, for no reason. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh, of course.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora internally groans. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They make their way up stairs, towards a large entrance, though there’s no way in. “Halt!” Someone shouts, making the four of them scream. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Halt? There’s nowhere else to go, there’s literally a large door in front of us.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora looks up and sees a guard glaring down at them, a spear in hand. “Identify yourself, and state your business!” They shout again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m Sea Hawk, a personal friend of Princess Mermista, who we’re here to see. And these people are my crew!” Sea Hawk belts out, gesturing behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, crew my ass.” Adora hears Glimmer mutter, she shoots her a look. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Glimmer mouths to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk opens his mouth to speak again, “Ple-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Glimmer cuts him off by walking past him, and calling up to the guard above. “We’re here on a diplomatic mission from the Kingdom of Bright Moon, and we need to speak to Princess Mermista immediately.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guard leaves, and within a couple of minutes of standing in silence, the door slightly opens, the same guard appearing in front of them. “This way, please.” He says, a little out of breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four of them shuffle through the entrance, making their way up even more stairs. Adora can’t complain, they’ve been sitting on a boat for hours, she needed to get her legs pumping again. They’re led through another entrance that brings them into a large hallway, similar to the ones at Bright Moon, but designed differently. There’s water flowing out of the walls, massive murals of sea creatures on the walls, it’s beautiful. A mixture of blue and green fills the hallway, it’s calming to Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So how do you and Princess Mermista know each other, again?” Bow asks from behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a low grunt from the guard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, uh, well you know, it’s uh, it’s a really long story, there’s no time for me to tell you now. You should’ve asked me about when we were on the ship, then I could’ve told you in chanty form!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer groans in response. Finally, they reach another door, where two guards are posted outside. Opening it, they’re led into the throne room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first thing that catches Adora’s eyes is the massive First Ones mural on the left wall in the room. Her eyes widen, she has to keep herself from walking over to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d recognize the markings anywhere, especially after learning a few things by Queen Angella. The art done on it is absolutely beautiful, mesmerizing. She casts her eyes up and down the wall, trying to decipher it almost. There are a couple of markings that are unfamiliar, she can’t make it out just yet, but hearing the conversation draws her attention away. But she can’t get the mural out of her head, she’d glance to look at it every couple seconds. Adora taps a finger against her thigh, mindlessly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk squeals, obviously very happy to see someone. “Princess Mermista,” Sea Hawk begins, clamping his hands together. Adora hears her groan, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>loudly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There she is, sitting upon her throne, Princess Mermista.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mermista looks older than what Adora had imagined, looking maybe a couple of years older than her. She’s wearing a full suit of armor, and has a large trident in her hand. She looks like she’s ready for a battle, it’s a bit surprising to Adora. Adora doesn’t remember anything about Salineas fighting the Horde. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe she’s just battle ready all the time?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But wow, she’s really built. Her dark hair flows into a tight side braid that rests on her shoulder. Adora notices dark tattoos on her arms and hands, the design going under her armor. She has piercings on her ears, and two golden ear cuffs as well. Adora swallows, a bit scared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he doesn’t get to finish when Princess Mermista holds a hand up. “Ugh, didn’t you just leave? Why are you here?” She says, rolling her eyes. Her attitude takes Adora by surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk runs to the steps beneath her throne, bending to his knees, bowing. “Oh to see you of course, I’ve missed you so much! Everytime I come and visit, you are even more beautiful than the last. We’ve been apart for so long!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She leans on her hand, bringing her knee to rest on the throne, displeased. “Okay, sure whatever, aaand, who are you guys?” Mermista asks, looking over to the three of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer walks forward, stepping up to stand beside Sea Hawk. “I’m Princess Glimmer of Bright Moon, and I’ve come to ask for your help.” Her voice rang nothing but pride, Adora smiled. “We’re here on a diplomatic mission, to ask if you would consider joining the Rebellion and the Princess Alliance.” Glimmer presses on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk slams his foot down, and brings his hand to his chest. “Ooohh, Mermista, you have in my dreams, I’ve-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A thundering boom echoes throughout the room when Mermista slams her trident against the floor. “Ugh, will you shut up? You’re interrupting my conversation with Princess Twinkle over here. Can you keep it down, or I’ll have my guards throw you out. Now, what were you saying, Twinkles?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That shuts Sea Hawk up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shocked, Glimmer stutters a little before repeating herself. “I-I was asking if you could consider helping us fight against the Horde by joining the Princess Alliance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eww, you’re asking me to join the war? I’m already busy enough trying to defend my own kingdom against the Horde, you know. I’m trying to win my war with the Horde first. Plus, it’s not like the Rebellion is doing so hot right now, especially with its history.” Mermista replies, her eyes dashing to the waterfall next to her throne.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer grunts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it doesn’t look like anyone’s here. Where are the people of Salineas even at? Where are your guards? You can’t protect anything if there’s nothing to even protect.” Bow counters, now standing beside Glimmer. “Oh, and I’m Bow by the way. It’s really an honor to meet you.” He quickly adds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mermista sighs, stepping off her throne and walks towards the waterfall. “My people have abandoned their home. Most people fled, the only people here are those who are loyal to me, unafraid to fight for their kingdom.” She grumbles, waving a hand. The waterfall Mermista’s standing at slowly transforms into a window, the view of the Salineas Gate on full display. “My kingdom is falling apart, ugh and now our gate is crumbling too. But it’s fine, it’s whatever, I’m handling it.” Merimsta sighed, shifting her gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Bow and Glimmer exclaim, rushing to the window.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, like, it’s a total disaster,” she murmurs, groaning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Gate</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Adora widens her eyes. “Of course,” she mutters to herself, quickly walking back over to the First Ones mural. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others continue their conversation, Adora ignores them, gazing up. Her eyes scan across the entire wall, reading all of the markings so easily now. Everything’s clicking together now, it all makes sense. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If I can read this, that means I can do something about it, right? Only one way to find out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning around, Adora realizes the other four are curiously looking at her. “Aaaand, what do you think you’re doing?” Mermista asks, crossing her arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She ignores the question, walking over to the window to join the others. “You’re connected to the Salinean Runestone, aren’t you?” Adora directs the question at Mermista, who raises an eyebrow, her eyes dashing to the stone above her throne. “Can’t you feel something’s off right now? How strong is your connection to the gate right now?” Adora asks, grabbing her sword.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mermista motions for her Trident, and Adora hears the guard shuffle, but Bow raises a hand. “No, it’s okay. She’s not going to attack, that’s just her magical sword, you’ll know what I mean in a second.” He reassures them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re wasting time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her grip on her hilt tightens, and she stares at Mermista. “I need to get a closer look at that gate.” Adora says, almost a demand, and winces just a little. She didn’t mean to sound rude, it’s just, there’s something bothering her. She can’t pinpoint it, but she can feel it. But she thinks it definitely has something to do with the gate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think you can fix it?” Glimmer asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora shrugs, not really knowing what she could do. “Something feels off to me, and I think it has to do with that gate. I don’t know if I can do anything, but I want to take a look at it. If anything, I can try.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer nods. “That settles it then. Look, Mermista, we need your help, and you need ours. What do you say?” Adora looks out the window, her eyes settling on the gate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It is crumbling, she notices, she can feel it. She can feel that it’s weak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, fine.” Mermista groans, putting a hand to her forehead. “Come on, let’s head on over to the gate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How are you holding up? You know, after seeing Catra again?” Bow quietly asks. They’re the only two on the ship, Glimmer and Sea Hawk are still on the beach talking to Mermista, talking about the next Princess Alliance meeting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora shifts her weight, uncomfortable. She softly touches her cheek, brushing the spot where Catra had left her scratches. The marks were gone, but she could still feel the pain. Adora looks down her arms, inspecting them for any scratches. She knows she won’t find any, but she can still feel all of them. The magic can make them physically disappear, but it still lingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was,” she breathed out, not knowing how to answer. How did she feel about seeing Catra again? Happy? Sad? Angry? Angry with herself? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no, I’m doing it again.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “It made me sad, seeing her upset and all.” Adora finally said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra is her best friend, was her best friend? Adora gaped at herself, realizing her mistake in all this. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> stuck in the past, was in denial about it all. She had to accept her decision.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s going to be the one attacking me now, always there when we encounter the Horde. She’ll always find me, know where I am.” Adora says, not necessarily to Bow, but to herself. She needed to say the words aloud to hear it. She lets out a shaky breath, gripping the edge of the boat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow walks over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be okay. You won’t be alone when it happens, you’ll have me and Glimmer. Always.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora sighs, trying to relax her body. She needs to let these feelings flow through her, Perfuma would be upset with how much negativity she’s been holding in. “I know, thanks, Bow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry that you’re hurting. You’re going through a lot, I can tell.” Bow says, softly nudging her shoulder, giving her a small smile. They’re facing the Salinean gate, looking at it in all of its glory and beauty. “You’re going to get through it, and I’ll be here by your side to help you.” He takes her hand in his own and gives it a squeeze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stand in a comfortable silence together, listening to the waves crash against the ship. They watch as Sea Hawk gives Mermista one last hug before departing, and Glimmer teleports them onto the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer rolls her eyes as Sea Hawk blows a kiss in the direction of Mermista, turning towards them. “I can’t believe things went so well here. We did it you guys!” She happily said, shooting her arms to the sky, little sparkles flying everywhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk jumps onto a wooden pole, his arm holding onto a rope. “Come on crew, we have a couple of hours to sail back to the mainland. Let’s go!”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>can you tell that I love Bow and Adora's relationship? thanks for reading, pls give me any feedback!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Calamity and Calmness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Maybe you’re here to help us."</p><p>"She would return to us in the hour of our greatest need."</p><p>For so many years, Adora has been fighting along the wrong side of the war, and because so for so many years, Etheria suffered with her help. Now that she has a magical sword, she has to try to redeem herself. The world needs She-Ra, not Adora, the girl who hurt this world and the people so badly. She had to make things right, she had to try. Even if it meant turning her back against her home? No, not the Fright Zone, no, it meant turning her back on her world. Her everything.</p><p>But Adora is the only one who can do this, it’s her duty to do this. She made a commitment.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>set around S1 E6</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Adora had always thought she wasn’t the kind to have a bad temper, she was level-headed most of the time. It’s just how she grew up. She had a clear mind and was understandable, especially since she grew up with Catra, it definitely made Adora the complete opposite. Catra was always the one who acted with her anger and hatred towards everything, Adora didn’t, and she was happy that she didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had only ever caused more problems or worsened the situation she noticed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If you’re angry, then use that anger to your advantage, it will make you stronger. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shadow Weaver would always say, but Adora could never follow through with it. She would try to be the better person and used different tactics. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Honestly, being angry always frightened Adora. She saw what it did to Catra for so many years, and Adora never liked being it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s the past though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But now? Oh, right now Adora definitely liked being angry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a craving she never knew she had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t know exactly what, but it’s as if a switch was flipped inside her body. All of the anger Adora had hid and pushed away, it was now flooding into every single part of her. She felt it course through her veins, emitting any kind of rage possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was consuming her and she was consuming it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could feel the rawness of the emotion, it was making her tremble.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fuck, is this truly what she’s been missing all these years? Adora almost wanted to laugh, no way was she going to stop now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She enjoyed the way it made her blood boil, the amount of strength it gave her. Adora couldn’t control herself, couldn’t control just how much power she had. But it didn’t change the fact that she liked it, that she liked having this power.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora felt the corners of her mouth creep upward, her teeth almost barring. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears in the back of her head, it’s such an annoying voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She immediately glares down at the robot, its red eyes looking at her, taunting her. Grunting, she grips the hilt of her sword tighter. Something inside her snaps when Adora pulls her sword out of the robot, watching as a bright red vein extends on her sword. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora widens her eyes, feeling it climb up her fingers, and then continuing up her arms. It’s attaching itself to her, trying to sink into her skin. Screaming, Adora nearly throws up, everything in her body feels like it’s on fire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a craving growing inside her, a hunger for destruction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Destroy everything. Destroy it all.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears again, and it makes her skin even hotter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grits her teeth. Raising her arms above her head, Adora swings the blade into the metal as hard as she can.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking shut up, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up, shut up!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the voice won’t stop repeating itself, she can feel a small headache forming in the back of her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora slams her sword again and again. She’s getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>pissed off now. She doesn’t understand why, but she could feel it building inside her though. There’s an ache growing in her arms, but she doesn’t care, she doesn’t care about anything. Groaning, Adora feels pain shoot through her jaw, it makes her clench her mouth harder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can hear a murmur in the back of her head, and she whips her head around, eyes scanning. Nothing is around her, nothing but destroyed robots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her frustration returns, just what is that fucking sound in her head then? What is talking? Who is talking?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can feel the bitterness building up inside her, it was making her angrier. Adora jabs her sword into the metal under her, she wants to rip the entire piece of shit apart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a distant roar in the hallway. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh. Stupid robots, always fucking ruining fucking everything. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora murmurs in the back of her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lets out a sharp hiss, feeling her thigh stinging, but she ignores it. There’s the taste of blood and metal in her mouth as a sharp piece of metal flies past her face, and there’s another sting but on her face. Adora doesn’t stop swinging though. She can feel sweat trickle down the side of her head, everything is hurting even more now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her entire body is on fire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she wants to destroy every single fucking thing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Everything.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She Ra stop! What are you doing?” Adora hears someone yell.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Great. Just fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fuming, she turns around and a low growl escapes from the back of Adora’s throat. The first thing she sees is the color pink, but only for a split second. A moment passes, and the color’s gone.  Through Adora’s eyes, anything and everything has red eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Red eyes for red figures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s all Adora can see, figures of red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A nasty snarl comes from her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There are two figures standing in front of her now, and Adora takes a step back. She can barely keep herself standing because </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>just hurts so much, but she holds herself up with the sword.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They come closer, and Adora grips onto her sword, snarling. She raises her arms above her head, and lets out a roar. “No!” Adora hears, but it’s too late. The moment her sword hits the ground beneath them, the impact shocks everything backwards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Debris flies everywhere, but Adora doesn’t move a single muscle. She can’t move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Sword of Protection slowly turns red, the virus climbing up Adora’s limbs, eventually making its way up her chest. It’s hard to breathe now. Her body feels numb, everything’s hurting even more now. She can feel something creep up inside her, tearing her apart, Adora doesn’t know what to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She Ra!” Adora hears again, and grunts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her head was aching, she couldn’t stop the murmur from coming back, but it was louder this time. She thought her head would explode at any minute, it started to yell, even.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to destroy everything. We are going to destroy everything. We will destroy everything. They took everything from me, took everything from us. They thought they destroyed me, they will never destroy us. I won’t stop, we won’t stop!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Let go of the sword! Just get away from it, Adora! Transform back!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We are here now, we have returned and we are never going back.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks up, breathing heavily. She can’t control herself, there’s something else inside her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>NO! No one is going to stop us!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holding the sword with one hand, Adora grabs metal shards and throws it. She lets out a piercing scream, she can feel sharp nails scratch the inside of her throat. It’s as if something’s trying to climb its way out. Another scream escapes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora, please! Turn it off! Come on, let go of the sword!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora feels soft hands touch hers, trying to pull the sword away from her. Her body hurts, everything is hurting - her skin feels like it’s burning, her muscles feel numb, her blood feels hot, her head is throbbing, her throat feels dry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can’t breathe anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Let go, and let us take care of it. We will take care of everything. Just let go.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, Adora does. She lets go of everything. But most importantly, she lets go of the sword.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t know what happened to the sword, all she knows is once the sword left her fingertips, a weight was lifted off her shoulders. The aching inside her head disappeared, everything was quiet. Fuck, it was such a relieving feeling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Screaming, Adora feels her body go limp and she releases her transformation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora!” Was that Glimmer calling for her? Adora couldn’t make out the voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blackness is all she remembers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Entrapta gives a small goodbye wave with her left pigtail. “It was wonderful to meet you guys. Thanks again, for saving my life against the robots, I hope to see you guys soon!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully the next time I see you, I’ll have my new arrow designs finished!” Bow excitedly says, giving her a small bow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a light laugh from Entrapta as she turns around, heading back into Dryl. With that, the three of them take off on the trail, back into the Whispering Woods. Adora relaxes a little, finding some comfort within the trees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they get far enough in the tree cover, Glimmer makes an “eeeeep” sound. “I can’t believe we got another recruit! We are three for three you guys, oh my mom is going to be sooooo proud of us!” Glimmer blurts, shooting her arms up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As usual, a couple of sparkles fly off her body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow hums in response, laughing lightly. “I just can’t believe I finally met Entrapta. I have to admit, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> exactly what I was expecting, you know, the whole obsession with robots. But, she’s pretty cool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ehh, you say that, but you weren’t with her all day. Ugh, she drove me nuts Bow! Nuts!” Glimmer says, looking over at Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He makes a face, and scratches the back of his neck. “I know, but it’s Entrapta! Just imagine all the amazing techy weapons we’ll be getting. The Horde won’t even know what will hit them the next time we face them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora bites her lip, dashing her eyes to the ground. Entrapta </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> have an obsession with robots, and especially with First Ones technology. Her breath hitches for a split second, her body beginning to hurt again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t remember anything, she couldn’t if she tried. The last thing she remembered was jumping onto the robot to save Entrapta and stabbing it. That was it, and she barely remembers it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Adora regained her senses again, she noticed the quick glances Glimmer and Entrapta gave her. It made her uncomfortable, knowing she had done </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> and had absolutely no memory of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No one had told her what happened, what </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> had done. That made her feel even worse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could tell that she was getting frustrated with herself, she was overthinking all of this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was overthinking this …  right? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she internally groaned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I need to take a deep breath, just calm down.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Earlier, Adora had overheard Entrapta talk into her recorder. “With the First Ones disk now broken, the tall one has become - hmm, normal again. Interesting, make a note to take a look at the tall one’s First Ones tech sometime, it may be an indicator. I don’t know exactly what, but I need to look at it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Entrapta had said she gotten </span>
  <em>
    <span>infected.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something happened to her when she made contact with that disk, Adora just didn’t know what exactly. She didn’t know that She Ra could become like that. And it made her </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>something, like it made her sick? No one would give her any answers, but Adora wasn’t asking either. She was almost too scared to even ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora tried to swallow, but her throat felt dry, she could feel herself sweating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anxiety started to form at the bottom of her stomach, she actually felt sick now. She had done something, done something extremely awful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it wasn’t her, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, no, it wasn’t her. It was someone else, </span>
  <em>
    <span>something else.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not even mentioning that her own body felt … </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Adora internally groaned, she could feel her head spinning. Something - someone was in her head, controlling her, using her. Everything in her body felt tingly. She runs her fingers up and down her arms, the touch making her skin ache just a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sudden memory of her entire body burning came to her. She lets out a sharp hiss, pain shooting through her. Adora closes her eyes, the memory of a faint whisper talking to her from the back of her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We will destroy everything. No one will stop us ever again, we will be successful.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, stop! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora thought, clamping her hands over her ears. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Get out of my head, get out, get out!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a gentle grasp around her wrists, and she hears Glimmer call her name. Adora opens her eyes, there’s a wet trickle down her cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow and Glimmer are standing in front of her. “Adora, hey, you’re okay, everything’s okay.” Glimmer whispers with a small smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora dodges their eyes, she can’t look at them, not when she’s like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Not when there’s this raw unknown emotion eating away inside her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she feels so vulnerable right now. Everything was ripped away from her, something </span>
  <em>
    <span>used</span>
  </em>
  <span> her and </span>
  <em>
    <span>controlled</span>
  </em>
  <span> her. She felt like an object, like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking victim.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything is not okay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, nothing is okay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s not okay, everything is just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking fucked up </span>
  </em>
  <span>for Adora, she won’t be anywhere near okay until she figures out what happened to her, or maybe, what is happening to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perfuma’s words echo quietly through her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adora, breathe. Realize that you’re under a tremendous amount of stress and work through it. What is causing you this stress? Just breathe, you’re okay.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora frowns, and pushes herself to face her fears. “What happened back in the castle? What happened to me? Just -” Adora asks, letting out a deep breath. Her voice is a little shaky, but she has to be brave. “- what the fuck did I do?” She meets their eyes, determined to find answers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But no, she doesn’t get anything. Nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys,” Adora pleads, trying to meet their eyes. “Please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches Glimmer look away, refusing to look at her. Glimmer lets go of her wrists and takes a step back. She glances at Bow to look for an answer, but he keeps his lips tight. Adora hears Glimmer quietly sigh, and it feels like an eternity before she finally looks at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She Ra got infected with some sort of First Ones virus after stabbing the robot. When you did that, the virus entered the sword, and somehow managed to spread to your body as well.” She weakly says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest, but she doesn’t say anything. Surely, there’s more to it, right? What else had she done? What else?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer releases another breath, and presses on. “Once the virus infected you, there was no way to stop you. It turned you into this destructive person. You didn’t listen, you started to become violent, and was destroying all of the robots, the castle, everything. At one point, you charged towards Entrapta and I and attacked us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora’s legs start trembling, letting herself fall to her knees. She had really attacked her own friends. Bow walks over to her, setting his hand on her shoulder for reassurance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, I attacked them? I attacked Glimmer and Entrapta … Fuck, fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you didn’t hurt us, not too bad at least. I mean, you like, you threw some pieces of metal at us, and it kinda hit me.” Adora shoots Glimmer a look, her eyes completely wide. Glimmer furrows her eyebrows, trying to backtrack. “B-b-but I’m okay, I promise. Entrapta’s okay, we’re both okay. It wasn’t you, Adora.” Glimmer says, dropping to her knees in front of Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pulls Adora by the arms into her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around her. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t hurt me, Adora. It wasn’t you. None of what happened was your fault.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can’t control the amount of guilt washing over her entire body. “I’m so sorry,” she cries, hugging the two of them back. “I’m sorry for everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow drops down next to them, joining in on the hug. He shakes his head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be sorry about anything, Adora. I promise, you don’t have anything to apologize for. It’s okay, you’re okay, everyone’s okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We destroyed that evil disk, nothing’s ever going to happen to you again.” Glimmer quietly adds, leaning over to touch her forehead to Adora’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It made Adora cry even more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What did she do to deserve the most amazing best friends? Adora truly loved them so much, she couldn’t imagine her life without them. They gave her so much love, reassurance, and comfort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They gave her promises.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re okay, we’re okay.” Glimmer comforts, Adora can feel a small rub on her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora nods, repeating the words in her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m okay, Entrapta is okay, Glimmer is okay, Bow is okay. They’re all okay. It wasn’t me that hurt them. It’s not my fault, it’s not. But I did stab the robot and get the sword infected. But how was I supposed to know that was going to happen? No, none of this is on me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can feel Bow hug her tighter, she doesn’t know if he can tell or not that she’s overthinking all of this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sniff sniff</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of them stay on the ground, hugging each other for a while. Adora’s the first to pull away, wiping her tears with the collar of her jacket. “Thanks so much you guys. I just really hope nothing like that happens to me again, I never want to feel like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ghostly feeling of her skin burning sends shivers down Adora’s spine, but she tries to ignore it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow stands first, helping the other two up, they’re all still holding hands. “You won’t, we destroyed that She Ra hating disk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora tries to smile, but she can feel it fall a little. She pushes down the guilt. Sighing, her hands settle on the straps of her backpack as they continue walking again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, I hope it’s gone for good. I’m glad you guys destroyed it, I never knew something like that could actually happen to She Ra.” It was all a blur for Adora when the disk had finally been destroyed, but she remembered leaning against Glimmer’s back, and watching red lines disappear from her sword. It was if she woke up from a week’s worth of sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aaaactually, Bow was the one who destroyed it, isn’t that right? Oh, you know, with your um, with arrow.” Glimmer corrects, slyly smiling. She turns away, murmuring something under her breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow grins and ducks his head towards Glimmer, cupping his ear. “Hmm? Oh, what’d you just say? I’m sorry, I couldn’t exactly make out what all you said. Can you, you know, can you repeat yourself a little louder?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer shakes her head in response. “No no, I think you heard me just fine, you know, with your hawk like ears.” She lightly shoves Bow away, grunting at his laughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay! Well, I mean, I don’t know if you heard her too, Adora -” Adora shrugs her shoulders, not looking back at the two. She’s staying out of this. “- buuuut, I mean, this is what I heard, that -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can hear Bow take a deep breath in and Adora </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> what’s about to happen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s going to attempt to show his best impression of Glimmer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“- Oh Bow, I’m so very sorry. I should have never doubted you, you were right about us relying on our magic too much. We should’ve listened to you and I’m sorry that we don’t give you enough credit with your arrows, and all the amazing different kinds you have. Gosh you’re so smart.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He has such a smartass grin on his face, Adora can’t help but smile with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer gasps, her jaw dropping. “Oh, you are such a little fucking shithead!” She blurts, the corner of lips easing into a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She puts her hands on her waist, but Bow continues. “And you’re also the best person I could ask for because you saved our lives, and you’re just so amazing. Gosh Bow, just wow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora turns around, hearing their footsteps come to a stop. Glimmer’s cheeks are barely blushing, and her fists are clenched. She immediately jumps towards him and wraps her arm around Bow’s neck, pulling him down to give him a knucklehead. “That is not what I said!” She yells, smiling. “Not exactly at least.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow’s laughter rings in the air, pushing away from her. “Okay, okay, sheesh. Didn’t have to go so hard on the hair, Glimmer.” He says, brows furrowing. Glimmer huffs, and turns from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He straightens up and fixes his afro with a tiny arrow comb. The small tool immediately catches Adora’s eyes, and she has to do a double-take. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Um, what?! Does Bow seriously have an arrow for everything??</span>
  </em>
  <span> She questions, watching him gently brush through it. She really didn’t take him seriously sometimes, wow, she had to work on that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer walks ahead of them, glancing away from Bow. “But yes, you were right about everything and I’m sorry for doubting you. There, you happy I said it?” Bow pauses his brushing and opens his mouth, but she immediately cuts him off. “Good, I guess we’re done talking about this discussion.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow simply smiles and starts walking as well, Adora following close behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora internally groans. She’s so relieved that they’re finally heading back to Bright Moon. They’ve been gone for nearly two weeks, since Sea Hawk just so made the extremely dumb decision to take the </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> way back to Seaworthy from Salineas. That was such a horrific trip, it was on the trip back that Adora realized she wasn’t quite suited for sea travel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they continue walking, Adora can feel a small cramp building in her left leg. She takes a peek over her shoulder, seeing the sun sitting right on the treeline. They’ve been walking for a couple of hours now, but they wouldn’t be able to make it to Bright Moon tonight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Adora takes off her backpack and rolls her shoulders, stretching them out a bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow hears her shuffling, and stops to look at her. He follows her lead. “Should we go ahead and make camp for tonight? We can make it back to Bright Moon early tomorrow.” He suggests to Glimmer, but he’s already taking his own backpack off as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer doesn’t say anything, just letting out a large yawn. Adora takes that as a yes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Adora sets off to find a small clearing while Bow looks around for some firewood. Glimmer, who usually helps Bow, is currently sitting down on a tree log, hunched over. They’ve been traveling together for quite a while now, so they each know their responsibilities when they set up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It doesn’t take a while before she’s found an area and they can finally settle down. Adora lays her backpack down beside a tree, and sits down beside it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>her muscles are aching, she was so ready for a sleep tonight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some time passes by, and Adora manages to create a small fire for them. There’s a small growl from her stomach, and she decides to go ahead and start dinner. Glimmer has already made herself comfortable and settled beside the fire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora rummages through Glimmer’s backpack - she’s responsible for carrying their food, and manages to find some potatoes. And thanks to Bow’s excellent hunting skills, they were going to have a good hearty meal tonight - fish and potatoes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ooh, the three of them definitely needed this, especially after the kind of day they had. Adora scoots towards the fire to poke at the hot coals. She needed to make a small bed for the potatoes to cook in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Next, she takes a couple of sticks and makeshifts a cooking rack so the fish can lie on it. It’s wonky looking, but it’ll have to do for now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, smells good.” Glimmer quietly says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun has finally disappeared below the horizon, the darkness of the night filling up the sky. Adora’s relatively used to the noises in the Whispering Woods, but they can still creep her out sometimes. When the night has finally settled, she’ll hear a distant roar and it’d take her a while before she’d feel comfortable to even sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But right now, Adora can feel the smallest hairs on her neck rise, and she quickly looks around, trying to spot anything in the darkness. She doesn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All Adora hears is the crackling of firewood and forest, and she lets it fill the air. It’s a while when Adora hears familiar footsteps, looking in the direction of Bow finally coming back after his third haul of firewood. He sighs and throws the logs onto the wood pile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Groaning, he unclasps his chestplate and sets it beside his backpack and quiver. “Fuck,” he softly breathes out. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am sooo beat.” He stretches his back and arms before deciding to sit down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer makes a noise, but not as a response. She’s already dozed off into a deep sleep. Adora smiles and leans towards Glimmer to pull a blanket over her. Glimmer </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a really rough day, she deserved the extra rest, Adora thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her attention goes back to the food, flipping the fish over to see if both sides are evenly cooked. Oh yes. They look super tasty, with a nice brown crisped skin and it smelled super good too. Dinner was almost done. She poked at the small potatoes, barely stabbing one with a small stick, and it broke the skin easily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nope, Adora took that back, dinner is actually done!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh this is going to be a real delicious meal, Adora was so excited. She could feel her stomach growling louder now, the craving for food was becoming extreme.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Bow was just as hungry too, seeing he’s carefully eyeing the food. She notices him creeping closer and closer to the campfire, almost drooling, ready for the meal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora takes a fish off the flame, setting it on a clean towel. Hitting a couple of potatoes, she manages to roll them off the coals and onto the towel as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay Bow, dinner’s ready.” She says, handing him his meal, and he eagerly takes it with no hesitation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, so fucking good, thanks for dinner, Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, as she goes through the same motions to make one for Glimmer, Adora can hear the nomming sounds from Bow. He is sure going to town over there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer’s sound asleep, and even though she looks so comfortable sleeping, Adora knows for a fact that Glimmer hasn’t eaten much today. But she needs to eat, that’s final. She may be grumpy when she wakes up, but at least she’ll have a full belly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora nudges Glimmer, shaking her shoulders. “Glimmer, hey Glimmer,” she whispers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s no response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tries again in a louder whisper. “Glimmer, come on, I need you to wake up. Dinner’s ready, and you need to eat.” Adora blows the steam from the fish and potatoes at Glimmer’s face, hoping it’ll help her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a slight stir.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora grins, success!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, five more minutes please.” Glimmer groggily murmurs, tossing an arm over her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But her nose isn’t covered and Adora uses that to her advantage, once again, blowing more steam in Glimmer’s direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A couple seconds later, there’s a harsh grunt from Glimmer, who shoots a mean glare to Adora. Sitting up, she snaps the food out of Adora’s hands with no complaint or thank you. Adora watches as Glimmer takes a couple of bites into her dinner before slumping her shoulders - satisfied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of them eat in silence, simply munching away at their dinner. By the time they’re done and cleaned up, the moon has reached its highest point in the sky, which means it’s time for bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow lets out a loud yawn, stretching his arms above his head. He slaps his lips together and grabs his pillow. “Okay, I caught dinner which means I’m not in charge of watching the fire tonight. Master Maker Bow is now heading to bed.” He announces, looking over to Glimmer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer rolls her eyes, nodding. “Ugh, fine, I’ll watch the fire until it dies down.” She murmurs, pulling her blanket over her arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And with that response, Bow knocks the fuck out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The faint crackling of the fire is comforting to Adora, but it doesn’t really lull her to sleep. But then again, she has a lot on her mind to be able to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember anything you said when I got the sword away from you today?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks over to Glimmer, shaking her head. “No, I said stuff? What do you mean? What’d I say?” She asked, slightly panicked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit, what the hell did I say? Was it bad? Was I saying shit about people? I don’t have anything bad to say? Not that I know of.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you know, it wasn’t really anything major or bad. You were just babbling on about mine and Entrapta’s hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait wait, hold on for just a second, I was saying what?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer laughs, and nods her head. “You heard me. You were all weird and loopy, and you kept saying how you were sooo jealous about my sparkly hair. Oh, and you were saying how you also wish you had cape to wear. I mean, speaking for one, I myself can’t even control the amount my hair sparkles. And two, it’s not a cape, it’s a robe!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora holds up a finger, giving Glimmer a face. Her eyes dart downwards and back up between Glimmer’s ‘robe’ and her. “You think that’s a robe?” She asks, biting her lips. Huh, she really thought it was a cape. Adora shakes her head, remembering the conversation before. “Loopy me? Just how loopy was I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, you weren’t exactly in the right mind all day. You kept calling me starlight and even called Bow a rainbow.” Glimmer shoots sleeping Bow a small smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?” Adora murmurs to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Loopy! I was fucking loopy! Why does this always have to happen to me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer quietly laughs at her, while Adora mumbles at herself. “Oh don’t worry Adora, loopy you was very </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a loud groan from her as she rolls her eyes. “Oh woow, if only Bow was awake to hear that, he’d be so proud of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>There you are, Adora.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a quiet murmur in the woods, and Adora immediately snaps her head. The hairs of the back of her neck are standing again, and she can feel anxiety forming in her stomach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A cold breeze whistles through the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora almost reaches for her sword before Glimmer’s voice shocks her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Glimmer says, catching her attention. “Did you hear me? I’m going to go to bed now, I think the flame’s have died down enough.” She lets out a big yawn and lies down next to Bow. “Goodnight, Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Night Glimmer.” Adora replies, her eyes looking back behind her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something is off, nothing felt right. A bad feeling was slowly building inside her, telling her that something is wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it wasn’t her magic telling her this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was her instincts.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know I made Adora all super crazy and angry, especially when she's calm most of the time</p><p>thanks so much for reading, and I'd love for any feedback.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Bravery and Survival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Maybe you’re here to help us."</p><p>"She would return to us in the hour of our greatest need."</p><p>For so many years, Adora has been fighting along the wrong side of the war, and because so for so many years, Etheria suffered with her help. Now that she has a magical sword, she has to try to redeem herself. The world needs She-Ra, not Adora, the girl who hurt this world and the people so badly. She had to make things right, she had to try. Even if it meant turning her back against her home? No, not the Fright Zone, no, it meant turning her back on her world. Her everything.</p><p>But Adora is the only one who can do this, it’s her duty to do this. She made a commitment.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>set around S1 E7</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Adora glances up at the night sky, the moons are in an alignment now, the eclipse has already started. She had no idea how much time she had left, but she does know that every second is precious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fuck</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shield around the island was gone, she could hear screaming, but nothing that sounded like an attack. She didn’t know what exactly had happened, but she could definitely take a guess.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her heart’s racing and completely panicked. Adora picks up the pace of her sprinting, now taking three steps up the stairs. She didn’t know where the ceremony was being held, but she had a feeling it was on the highest floor Mystacor had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow’s voice - Adora shakes her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she had to remind herself, </span>
  <em>
    <span>it wasn’t Bow. It was Shadow Weaver.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rounded a corner, her footsteps echoing through the hallway. Everything was getting darker to Adora, she wasn’t sure if it was her nerves or if it was actual reality.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, Shadow Weaver was here. Shit, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora nearly stopped right then, her quick breaths caught in her throat. Shadow Weaver </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> here, here in Mystacor somewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I truly wasn’t going crazy, I mean, not that I even doubted myself, but I was right. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora had to shake her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop it, that’s not the point, Shadow Weaver is here, somewhere on Mystacor, and she’s destroyed the shield. I need to find her, she could’ve hurt Bow and Glimmer.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was she going to even do when she found Shadow Weaver? Adora had no idea what her intentions were - only that Shadow Weaver was trying to capture Adora and bring her back to the Fright Zone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora runs past the statues, her gaze staying on Light Spinner’s statue. She forces a thick swallow as she enters the next room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s too quiet in here, there are bodies on the floor. Adora panics, she doesn’t move a muscle. They weren’t … dead, were they? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why hello, Adora. I was wondering when you would join us,” someone whispers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Goosebumps pop up on Adora’s arms as chills run down them, she tries to shake the nerve away. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that it was Shadow Weaver’s voice, it wasn’t possible for her to not be </span>
  <em>
    <span>here. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver was </span>
  <em>
    <span>here.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Here</span>
  </em>
  <span> in Mystacor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks around and she doesn’t see Shadow Weaver, but Adora </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> and can </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> her presence somewhere in the room. In front of her, Adora sees Castaspella unconscious on the steps under the moons. She bites the inside of her lip, Shadow Weaver must’ve attacked them in the middle of the ceremony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anxiety floods her entire body when she spots Glimmer on the floor and Bow right beside her, both of them out cold. There’s a dark spark floating right beside their heads, Adora can see Glimmer’s eyes moving under her eyelids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver had knocked them out, but by using her dark magic, they were experiencing nightmares while unconscious. This was all Adora’s fault.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gasping, Adora runs towards them, her hand reaching out to them, she has to get to them. But she hears Shadow Weaver laugh from somewhere in the room, it’s just as Adora remembers, Shadow Weaver’s black impenetrable walls surround her. All of the memories from her childhood swarms Adora, fear shooting through her body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora tries to hit the wall, but once she makes contact, it immediately stings her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was useless, there was no way that she could get to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shadow Weaver, stop!” Adora screams, her anxiety is worsening. Her breathing is quickening, she can feel her heartbeat increasing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, no no. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora thought, gripping her sword. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to stop this, she had to stop Shadow Weaver. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? Adora, my child. I thought I taught you to never surround yourself with </span>
  <em>
    <span>weak</span>
  </em>
  <span> people. They will only ever make you weak and pull you down, and you are not like them. You, Adora, are strong.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will stop you,” Adora whispers, hearing her own voice falter just a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver laughs hysterically. “You think you can? Oh please, Adora, you’re out of time. My spells are in place, and the eclipse is almost over.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks up, her eyes widening at the sight. The three moons were nearly aligned perfectly, the crystals were completely blackened by shadows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to stop this, she had to save everyone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have to be smarter than this, Adora. Do not let your heart get in the way of everything you have worked so hard for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Making relationships distracts you, you mustn't let that happen. You need to have a clear mind, you need to assess the situation, you need to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything that Shadow Weaver taught her is hitting Adora all at once, it almost gives her whiplash. She nearly falls to her knees, but she keeps herself standing with her sword. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora wasn’t going to fall to Shadow Weaver, she refused to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to keep telling herself this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You aren’t going to fall to Shadow Weaver, you can do this. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the more she did it, the less of an impact the words had on her. She could unconsciously feel the words lose their meaning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s time for you to come back home, Adora. You’ve had your little fun out here with these,” Shadow Weaver pauses, Adora watches as Shadow Weaver turns her gaze to linger on Glimmer. “- princesses. Mystacor will fall, my dear, and soon you will be back with me. We will be united, and we will conquer Etheria together.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No we won’t, there won’t be an </span>
  <em>
    <span>us. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There has never been an </span>
  <em>
    <span>us. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m not going back to the Fright Zone, I’m not going back with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Shadow Weaver. I’m staying with the Rebellion, and I’m going to help them destroy the Horde.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Rebellion? They have only been trying to use you, Adora, use you for your powers. The second they found out about She Ra, you instantly became a weapon for them. You know deep down that I am saying the truth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No you aren’t, you’re wrong about the Rebellion, and you’re wrong about me. You know nothing about me, you never knew me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do know you!” Shadow Weaver hisses, the dark magic bursting out of her body. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, Adora. I understand you! The Rebellion are the people who do not understand you! They have never understood you, just like they never understood me!” Her voice was thundering the room, Adora had to cover her ears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora made the connection almost immediately. Shadow Weaver’s voice echoed in her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They never understood me ... ? H-how is that possible?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver appeared beside Castaspella’s body, lowering to a small squat. “These people are weak Adora.” Shadow Weaver takes a strand of Castaspella’s hair, twirling it around her fingers. Adora’s breath hitches. “These people are useless cowards, always running away. They have always been scared of power they do not understand, just like how they did not understand </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her gaze slowly turns towards Adora, and it makes Adora feel small.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes, Adora. Believe it or not, I was on the side of Rebellion long before you. How do you think I am such a powerful sorceress I am today? Years ago, I came here to study the magic, learning different ways to control it. I came here as Light Spinner, and once I learned the techniques of such powerful magic, they turned their backs on me. They betrayed me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver disappeared into the air. All Adora could hear was her own quiet trembles and breaths. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But enough talking Adora, it’s time to come back home. It’s time to go where you belong.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can feel the presence of Shadow Weaver behind her, the coldness from her shadows. She can feel tears forming behind her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But this Adora wasn’t scared of Shadow Weaver - no, this was Adora experiencing and feeling the pain that she endured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was so much fear and anxiety that Adora was experiencing. She was remembering what it was like, growing up in the Fright Zone under Shadow Weaver’s command. She was remembering every single moment like it was yesterday.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could hear the screaming throbbing in her eardrums, the burning sensation on her skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, fuck, make it stop. Please, make it stop!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora screamed.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t being attacked, there wasn’t anything happening - it was all in Adora’s head. She was doing this to herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t working, Adora thought she could face Shadow Weaver on her own. She believed that Shadow Weaver had no control over her anymore. She thought she could do it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she couldn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can feel the slight warmth of Perfuma’s hand on her shoulder, comforting her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Breathe Adora.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to calm down - control herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Take a deep breath and let it out. You’re okay, you can do it. I know it’s hard, but be brave and face your fear. It’s difficult for us to experience vulnerability, but it makes you stronger and connected. It’ll be okay, you’ll be okay. Just take the first step and you can do it. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Take the first leap and be brave Adora. I believe in you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A weight dropped from her shoulders as she breathed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora turned towards the center of the room, her eyes fixated on the moons. Time was running out, she had to fix everything, she had to stop Shadow Weaver.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt tears continuing to stream down her cheeks, she wasn’t going to try to stop crying. No, she was going to accept the pain. She had to feel everything, even if it did hurt so much, she had to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Adora firmly said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough of this Adora, you’re simply making this more difficult for yourself. The Rebellion doesn’t care about you. Not like I do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You,” Adora could feel the chill from her wet cheeks, she could hear her voice trembling. “You don’t get to talk to me like this. You have never had the right. No, you don’t get to tell me anything anymore, you aren’t in my life anymore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you let these people tell you what to do?” Shadow Weavers asks, appearing in front of Adora. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora almost took a step back, but she didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She willed herself to stand her ground, it was time to be brave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>These</span>
  </em>
  <span> people are my friends, my </span>
  <em>
    <span>family,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Adora says, motioning to all of them. Granted, she was mainly talking about Bow and Glimmer and maybe even Castaspella. “I’m making my own choices, I have freedom in my life. You don’t control me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh please,” there’s a snicker, the shadows extending up the walls. Adora ignores it, she grips onto her sword.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just listen to yourself Adora. You think I’m not in your life, I am always a part of you.” Shadow Weaver’s voice whispers into Adora’s ear. “Why do you let these people, these weaklings into your life? You have only known them for a couple of months compared to the lifetime I have known you. These people are nothing, Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora scoffs, but she doesn’t say anything. She couldn’t stop the small feeling of anxiety from building inside her, but she tried to push through it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I raised you Adora. I made you who you are today, without me, you would not be here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was anger building up inside Adora. “You didn’t raise me.” She snapped - at the same time, almost surprised at herself. “No, you manipulated me into something, someone else my entire life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I made you into the soldier you are today!” Shadow Weaver yelled, her voice belting in the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You manipulated me into the soldier I am, you were always controlling me with your twisted mind games. I’m none of those things you called me. I care about my friends, they make me stronger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver appeared in front of Adora, her shadows creeping out from underneath her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t scaring Adora. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, she was done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You would not be where you are today, you would not be as skilled as you are right now without me. You are strong and ruthless. I gave you the tools and skills you need to survive, do not forget that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you did, but you taught me that I would survive if I only benefitted from </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You manipulated me into someone that I’m not, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> -” Adora pointed her sword at Shadow Weaver.  “- were trying to benefit from </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> my entire life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I prepared you for greatness! I prepared you to win this war and destroy the princesses. I gave you everything you need to survive and become the best of the best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Destroy the princesses? You brainwashed me into believing a lie. That’s what you’ve always done, manipulate and lie to me. You did nothing for me. But me? I was nothing but a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tool</span>
  </em>
  <span> for you, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>weapon</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the Horde. All this time, you were the one always trying to use </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks up at the moons, there’s a bright shimmer that she notices, a warmth almost. It radiates through her body, putting her at ease.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mystacor’s not falling today, the shield may be down, but the Horde isn’t conquering it today. They never will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh child, you still know nothing. Even after I taught you how to be victorious, you cannot stop me Adora. The eclipse only has a couple of minutes left, and I will have full control over Mystacor. There’s nothing that you can do. You will fail.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can do this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know me anymore, Shadow Weaver. I am going to stop you and I’m going to save Mystacor and my friends. You’re going to return back to the Fright Zone empty handed today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora runs to the middle of the room where the pool of water is. She scans her eyes, trying to figure out a solution - there has to be a way to fix this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A faint feeling came to Adora, and she slowly raised her sword. The gem on the handle caught her eyes, drawing her in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Be brave.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instinctively, Adora jumped to the side as Shadow Weaver’s shadows lunged for her. “I’m not going to be the one who's going to fail today.” Adora says, gripping onto the sword with both of her hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver attacked again, but this time, Adora didn’t dodge the attack. Instead, she let out a calm breath, and felt something simply switch inside her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches as her Sword of Protection immediately transforms into a shield, blocking the attack. There’s a force that hits the shield, but Adora doesn’t back down. Shadow Weaver screams and tries to attack again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, your attacks won’t work on me anymore. You words don’t mean anything to me anymore. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> are nothing to me but meaningless memories.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a beam of bright light that shoots from the shield aiming directly at Shadow Weaver. It broke the dark shadows apart, some of it disappearing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks up, watching as the moonlight slowly channels its energy into one beam. She was wasting time - she had to get through Shadow Weaver.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were six crystals, but at a closer look, only five of them were only blackened. Shadow Weaver didn’t have full control of Mystacor. There was still a chance, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> was set in stone just yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora just had to figure out how to redirect the moonlight from Shadow Weaver’s magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Realization dawned on her face as she linked the two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the moonlight that Adora had to focus on, it was Shadow Weaver. Adora had to get rid of Shadow Weaver - it was her magic that was ruining everything. But how to do that? What was her weakness? Shadow Weaver wasn’t actually here, it was only her magic - her shadows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her shadows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looked down at her shield, a faint shimmer flickered across the gem once again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It brought warmth to Adora’s chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You wanted to conquer Etheria! All these years, it was everything you trained and fought for. I can give you the power, I can give you everything and anything you need. I can give you Etheria, we can rule together!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora could hear the desperation in Shadow Weaver’s voice - it was almost pathetic, but it was honestly more saddening to Adora. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When did it get to this point?  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The coldness of a shadow hovers on Adora’s arm from behind, it comes as a shock to her. “I am the one who gave you everything, I can take it all away.” Adora can feel her body trembling. “You were nothing before I found you, Adora! And you will be nothing without me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora turns to swing her shield, cutting Shadow Weaver’s form in half. “You were never a part of me in the first place,” Adora murmurs, watching shadows scurry across the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can feel confidence growing within herself. A bright light beams from the shield, forcing the surrounding shadows around Adora to retreat. Adora smiled, proud of herself. It was working.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver appeared in front of her, but she kept her distance. Adora could tell by her body language that Shadow Weaver was catching onto her tactics, of course she would.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Time was running out, Adora knew she was really pushing her luck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora, please, enough of this. You have had your little fun all these months, time for you to come home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gripping leather straps, Adora pushed forward as she held her shield close to her chest. She watched as Shadow Weaver clenched her fists and motioned her black shadows to charge towards her. “You think you can face me? You’re weak! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shadow Weaver is never going to listen, she’ll never understand what I had to endure all those years, how she treated everyone, how truly evil she is. She’ll never stop.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not weak, I’ve never been weak.” Adora felt the power within her grow, she could feel the power channel into the shield, emitting a brighter beam. She watched as Shadow Weaver covered her face with her hands, her shadows were slowly dissipating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched as the light slowly faded away, but she knew the power wasn’t gone. Adora straightens up, still holding her shield up. She wasn’t scared anymore, she wasn’t going to be paralyzed in fear by Shadow Weaver anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, Adora was done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to stop the Horde. I’m going to stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>you, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shadow Weaver. There’s nothing that you can do to me anymore,” Adora swore, watching as her entire shield started to shine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have no power over me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the final declaration that Adora needed to hear herself say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was Adora ripping off the bandaid so that she could finally start the healing process of what Shadow Weaver put her through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was accepting everything that had happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora watched as the magic from within her surged through her body and into the shield, emitting such a blinding yet beautiful light that turned everything to white in the room. Even though she had ducked her head behind the shield, Adora could barely see anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could hear Shadow Weaver’s screams in the distance, but a moment later, and nothing more. It was quiet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The coldness in the room instantly disappeared, the warmth of Mystacor’s magic resurfacing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The light had slowly disappeared and Adora felt exhausted and drained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But at the same time, a weight fell, not just from her shoulders, or her chest, but rather her entire body and mind. It was as if she could finally breathe and think.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the same feeling that she felt during this whole trip when she kept seeing Shadow Weaver’s magic all over Mystacor. It wasn’t the anxiety or paranoia of seeing Shadow Weaver everywhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, it was Adora setting herself free from Shadow Weaver, she had said it herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shadow Weaver didn’t have any power over her anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a faint sound, Adora didn’t know what it was, but she looked up at the sky and saw the three moons slowly creeping away from each other. She watched as the sky blurred for a split second - the protection spell had been restored.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora let out a relieved sigh, Mystacor was safe again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her head immediately shot up, quickly looking around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow and Glimmer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora scans her eyes as she runs across the room. Once finding them, she can see Glimmer’s calm expression, and Adora lets out another sigh. They weren’t experiencing Shadow Weaver’s nightmares anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dropping to her knees, Adora gently shakes the both of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a couple of shakes, but Bow was the first to wake up, opening his eyes very slowly. Adora noticed he had dried tear streams down his cheeks, and she felt her heart stop for a second. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she didn’t want to know about the horrible nightmare he dreamt about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora?” Bow weakly asks, his voice rough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gives me a small smile, helping him sit up. “You’re okay, you just had a bad dream was all. Do you remember anything? What’s the last thing you remember?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wincing, Bow rubs the side of his head. He’s murmuring to himself as he looks around, it’s a while before his eyes settle back on her. “I don’t know, I think there were some shadows coming up from the ground, and reaching for the sky. It was during the ceremony.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora carefully watches him, she can tell he’s trying to sort his thoughts, trying to separate reality from his nightmares. A couple of seconds pass by and he widens his eyes, slowly looking at her in the eyes. Fresh tears well up in his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gives him another small smile knowing he’s made the connection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s true, isn’t it? It-it was Shadow Weaver wasn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she doesn’t say anything immediately, Bow looks away, the tears streaming down his face. Adora reaches for his hand, softly taking a hold of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bow,” she gently says. She can hear sobs coming from him and it’s breaking her heart. “Bow,” she tries again, a little firmer this time. He shakes his head, turning farther away from her. “Come on, please don’t push me away. It’s -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Adora hears Glimmer mutter groggily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning, Glimmer is rubbing at her eyes, trying to adjust them to the light. Bow doesn’t move, so she decides to take the lead. “You’re okay, you just had a really bad nightmare.” Adora quietly says, stroking Glimmer’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer rubs at her eyes again, wincing as she sits up. “My head feels like it’s throbbing. Fuck, it hurts a lot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora smiles, of course Glimmer would be able to bring some lightness into this situation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened? When did you get here? Why am I laying on the ground?” Glimmers asks, rapid firing a series of questions that Adora wasn’t prepared for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow sniffles, wiping at his eyes as he turns to face them both. Glimmer furrows her eyebrows, shooting looks at the two of them, waiting for an answer. He looks at Adora, but doesn’t say anything. He can’t - he knows those questions aren’t meant for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora sighs, and grabs one of Bow and Glimmer’s hands, giving it a tight squeeze before opening her mouth. “Shadow Weaver was here, she knocked everyone out during the eclipse.” Glimmer gasps, a hand shooting to cover her mouth. “She put you guys under a spell that put you into a nightmare state, it’s how she punishes people. But you guys are okay now, she’s gone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sh-she was here?” Glimmer asks, the question barely audible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding, Adora tries to give them both a reassuring smile. She knows they’re both guilting themselves, maybe even saying awful things in their own heads. Adora has to stop it before it gets worse. “Yeah she was, she’s not here anymore. She was trying to bring me back to the Horde, she was here for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“B-but she was here,” Glimmer whispers, tears streaming down her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, she’s gone now, we’re fine, I’m fine. Mystacor’s safe again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer slowly looks at her, Adora watches as she lets out a small breath. “We didn’t believe you, I didn’t believe you, not even once.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks over at Bow who has a few wet tears down his cheeks. He’s looking at the ground, at their hands, not saying anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rubs circles with her thumb on Glimmer’s hand, she has to know it’s okay, that everything’s okay. But in the end, it makes Glimmer cry even more. Glimmer closes her eyes, letting go of her hand and hugs herself. “Not even once,” she mutters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yawning, Adora nearly drops her spoon into her soup. She was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open. It felt like it had been forever since she’s gotten a good night’s rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer’s aunt … was that the correct term? Castaspella had made them a comforting dinner after the whole incident with Shadow Weaver. Not that it wasn’t good, it was super delicious, it was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much food.</span>
  </em>
  <span> There were fresh bread rolls, creamy potato soup, vegetable soup, and three different pans worth of roasted vegetables.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora wasn’t complaining at all - she loved all of the food. But she doesn’t think the three of them could eat all of it alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, um, do you guys think there’s any firewood that we could use on Mystacor?” Adora asks, taking a sip from her glass of water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t know what exactly prompted her to ask, well no, she actually does.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, I’m pretty sure they do, I could ask Aunt Casta to see if they have any. Why do you ask?” Glimmer replies, taking yet another piece of bread from the bowl. She hasn’t touched her soup at all, but she’s eaten like five pieces of bread alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow sets his bowl down on the table with a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>thud</span>
  </em>
  <span>, finishing his soup. Adora and Glimmer both give him a look as he wipes his mouth, and he gives them a grimace look. “Hehe, sorry,” he whispers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Humming, Adora takes a second to think of a proper response. “I kind of wanted to sleep outside tonight, or I don’t know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we could</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if you wanted to join me. I just wanted to throw the idea out for you guys, I understand if you don’t want to. It was just really relaxing and calming when we all laid out there together earlier today, and I kind of wanted to be out there again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora groans. She wants to slap herself, she was fumbling all over her words. Scratching the back of her neck, Adora bites at her lips as she feels her heart rate pick up. She watches as both Glimmer and Bow look at each other and then at her, a wide grin on both of their faces.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow scoots closer to her, a light laugh off his lips. “We’d love to join you, Adora.” Bow assures. “We can just sit around the campfire, stay up late, laughing and talking. It’ll be a nice time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I’m so excited, I’ll be right back. I’m going to go find Aunt Casta!” Glimmer squeals, teleporting away, sparkles fluttering in the air in her place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smiling to herself, Adora pushes her bowl away from the edge and takes a small bite of a piece of bread. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly chewing on it, Adora pondered, figuring out why she couldn’t exactly place the feeling she had about everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There wasn’t any stress weighing on her shoulders, no anxiety stored in her chest. She felt nothing forming in her stomach, there wasn’t anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was this relief? Of course she was relieved that everything went smoothly in the end and she got rid of Shadow Weaver. So was all of this really just her being relieved?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wouldn’t be lying to say that she believed everything had finally settled down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You have no power over me anymore!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The words replayed in her head over and over, and she tilted her head in thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I said it, and I did it. I actually did it, I defeated her. Honestly, I should’ve told Shadow Weaver to just fuck off because I really did just do that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Then, out of the blue, the realization suddenly hit her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, I basically did tell Shadow Weaver to fuck off. Shit!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora sat in silence, frantically thinking herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Letting out a low grunt, Adora takes another small piece of bread and pops it into her mouth. Why was this bread so addictive to eat?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to calm herself down, there wasn’t anything to stress about. Right? So yes, she had an </span>
  <em>
    <span>eventful</span>
  </em>
  <span> confrontation with Shadow Weaver, but it was necessary for her to do it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora had to do it, it was the only way for her to move on. She’s been with the Rebellion for a few months now, and they’ve run into the Horde because of Shadow Weaver’s orders. Everything that’s been happening has been because of her, this was the only way to stop Shadow Weaver.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow catches her attention when he quietly clears his throat, and reaches out and takes a hold of her hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looks up to see his eyes full of tears and her heart drops at the sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey hey, not this again,” Adora quietly says. She laces their fingers together and tightens her hold, locking their bond. She rubs small circles on his hand, knowing it was comforting to him. He would always do this with her whenever she was upset.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know,” he says shutting his eyes. A few more tears run down his cheeks, and he wipes them away. “I just can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t believe how fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span> I was for not beliving you, how </span>
  <em>
    <span>dumb</span>
  </em>
  <span> I was. You kept </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> telling me and I kept being an idiot!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora grabs his other hand, pulling him to face towards her. “Bow,” she says, the same sincere tone as before. She’s not angry at all, but she’s just being serious - he needs to hear her say it again. “Stop, please stop. That is not true, you are none of the things you’re saying, none of them. I need you to stop though, you’re destroying yourself with guilt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t let him look away, and she’s glad that he doesn’t try. “But I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t believe you, no matter how many times you kept telling us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, and it’s okay. You couldn’t have known, but now you do. It’s okay, I promise, I forgive you, Bow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But how are you not angry with us, not even the slightest bit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could never be angry with you guys when you didn’t know anything.” Bow’s expression doesn’t change, so Adora decides a different approach. “Because you guys didn’t grow up with Shadow Weaver, you don’t know what she’s like. That’s how she always treated me, it’s just how she is. She’s manipulative, always using people against the other, using paranoia and fear to her advantage.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s how she treated everyone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Memories of Catra popped in her head, Adora had to shake them away. A faint sensation of guilt formed in the pit of her stomach - </span>
  <em>
    <span>no, stop it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She forces herself to shake the feeling away, now wasn’t the best time to think about that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should be angry with us, we’re such awful friends to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bow, I need you to stop guilting yourself. You and Glimmer are not awful friends, not the slightest bit, trust me when I say that please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding, he releases a deep breath. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I just can’t stop thinking about it, I’ll try to stop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just try, that’s all that matters.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s so awful that that’s the way she treated you while growing up. I couldn’t imagine having to grow up for so many years with her. How did you get through it? You endured Shadow Weaver’s torture and manipulation your entire life, how’d you survive it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora has to chew on her lip - Bow was </span>
  <em>
    <span>forcing</span>
  </em>
  <span> her to think about it now. But she didn’t exactly have to go into detail, did she? “I don’t know, I just did. It was the only way to survive, to endure it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I hope you never have to go through any of that ever again.” He whispers, sniffing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know and I won’t. She doesn’t have control over me anymore, she can’t control me. I know she’s done things to me and manipulated me my entire life, but I’m going to get through it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will, and I’ll always have your back. I broke that promise -” Adora opens her mouth to remark but Bow shakes his head. “- no, I did break my promise. But from now, I’ll be by your side. I’m never going to doubt you ever again, I promise to always have your back now.” Bow says, his expression softening. He wipes some of his tears away and rubs at his nose. He has such a broad smile on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Bow,” she says, giving him a smile, unclasping her hand from his.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His attention goes back to the food, reaching for the pan of vegetables. He then takes a small scoop of roasted potatoes, plopping some onto a small plate. A satisfied hum rumbles from his chest, chewing after he’s taken a couple of bites.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not a moment later, Glimmer appears back in her seat with a wide grin. “Success!” She sings, grabbing yet another piece of bread. “Sorry I was gone for so long, I couldn’t find the damn woman anywhere. But I finally found her in the stables, and she said there’s some firewood in the amphitheater out in the courtyard, ah! I’m so excited! Sleeping under the night sky tonight, just the three of us. And no creepy noises from the Whispering Woods.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweet, when do you guys want to head down there? I’m about finished with dinner, but we could always sneak some food down there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer immediately jumps up, squealing. “I have a better idea! How about I go and see if the kitchen has any cake!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, if they do have any, could you get me a big slice of a chocolate cake, please? I’m in need of a big sweet snack.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold up, if we’re asking for specific types of cake, I want a carrot cake!” Adora shoots Bow a questionable look, which he responds with a shrug. “What? I’m in the mood for some carrot cake, don’t bash.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh fine, any other special requests before I go to the kitchen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and some glasses of milk, get like six glasses. Or if you can, just bring a giant jug of it.” This time, both Glimmer and Bow shoot her a look. Adora holds her hands up in defense. “No judgement, you’re the ones who got me hooked on milk and cake. It’s the perfect combo ever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, is that it?” Glimmer asks, her eyebrows shot up. She looks a bit annoyed, but fear not, the power of cake will cheer her up in a matter of time. Neither Adora or Bow responds, so she nods. “I’m not setting up the campsite, since I’m on desert duty.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow quietly grunts, and crosses his arms, displeased. “Fine, Adora and I will go get the firewood and our backpacks. We’ll meet you down there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not a second later, and sparkles are left in the place of Glimmer. Adora takes one last sip of her water before standing up. “I can go get out things and backpacks from the room, you go ahead and go to the amphitheater.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow looks over his shoulder on their way out of the dining hall, “You sure?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be fine, it’s just a couple of backpacks, no biggie.” Adora reassures, walking up the stairs to their room. “I’ll be real quick, then I’ll help you with the fire.” She calls over her shoulder. With that, they both head in different directions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora swiftly treads up the stairs, feeling goosebumps on her arms as a cool breeze flies by. She looks up at the sky, at the moons. Stopping, Adora walks over to the edge of the stairway, and leans against the brick wall, gazing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What happened to the stars?</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the encounter between Adora and Shadow Weaver was one of my favorite scenes of S1, especially the moment where SW says 'you will be nothing without me." Adora's such a powerful character, this episode was such a important part of her growth and insight into her character.</p><p>also, the more I write, the more I'm loving Adora and Bow's relationship - they have such a strong relationship too</p><p>thanks so much for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. any feedback or comments would be much appreciated!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Distraction and Dedication</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Maybe you’re here to help us."</p><p>"She would return to us in the hour of our greatest need."</p><p>For so many years, Adora has been fighting along the wrong side of the war, and because so, for so many years, Etheria has suffered with her help. Now that she has a magical sword, she has to try to redeem herself. The world needs She-Ra, not Adora, the girl who hurt this world and the people so badly. She had to make things right, she had to try. Even if it meant turning her back against her home? No, not the Fright Zone, no, it meant turning her back on her world. Her everything.</p><p>But Adora is the only one who can do this, it’s her duty to do this. She made a commitment.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>set around S1 E8</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Soft instrumental music and laughter filled the ballroom, as did the sound of faint click of heels and boots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking around, Adora could feel a warm feeling on her cheeks, she could only guess it was because of the drink she had in her hands. Glimmer said it was something called campaign?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeah, that sounds about right.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or maybe it was because the temperature in the room was a bit steamy, with all of the people, and the amount of dancing there was. But then again, they were literally in an </span>
  <em>
    <span>ice</span>
  </em>
  <span> castle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or maybe it could be the amount of people looking at her. She didn’t know how she felt about people staring at her, but she didn’t mind it at the moment. Maybe she did, just a little. Yeah, no, she didn’t like it all. It was a bit uncomfortable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora decided to go with the campaign for making her cheeks hot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora slightly rolls her eyes. She can’t stop herself from remembering the embarrassing memory. It had just happened a couple minutes ago, </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Her encounter with Frosta definitely did not go very well, not exactly how Adora intended. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wanted to slap herself for being so </span>
  <em>
    <span>dumb</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she also wasn’t being dumb? Adora was being practical and decisive, there are important matters to speak of, and this was, as unfortunate as it was, the only time to speak to Frosta.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she had to figure out an ideal way to speak to Frosta before the night was over. Okay sure this was an extremely, like super </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> formal event, Adora definitely understood that, but there was also a war happening. Frosta had to understand that, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Groaning to herself, Adora takes a small sip, and leans against the stair railing, her eyes settling on the ice sculpture in the middle of the room. She’s not exactly looking at the art piece, but rather spacing out now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A different flashback shoots through her head, and it was when Adora was looking up at the sky. The faint memory of stars appears as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What happened to the stars?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora grits her teeth, a small build of frustration forming in her chest. Ever since that night on Mystacor a couple months ago, she couldn’t get the question out of her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was it supposed to even mean? Was there something important about the stars that Adora missed? Are there supposed to be stars in the universe? She remembered Razz asking her that when they stumbled on a First Ones ruin when this whole thing started. There was some sort of simulation that showed her the stars, but she never thought more of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Were the stars related to She Ra in any way? Related to Adora?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Related to Mara even?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mara - where to even start with that? Adora had no idea who that person was, but she definitely was important since Razz kept talking about her all the time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ugh, damnit!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora! Wow, you look absolutely stunning!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora nearly spills her drink all over herself as Perfuma gracefully strides towards her with Bow right behind her. Adora looks over at them and she has to do a double take because </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they are the ones who look stunning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She opens her mouth to say something but Perfuma takes that chance to swoop in for a hug, wrapping her arms gently around Adora’s chest. And of course, with Perfuma being this close, all she can smell is the fresh scent of flowers. It was a mixture of so many - roses, hyacinths, lilies, lilacs, and many more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t overwhelming surprisingly, but rather absolutely refreshing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was absolutely jealous that Perfuma had the ability to do that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Adora weakly says, her heart skipping a beat and her eyelids fluttering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perfuma lightly laughs, gently clinking their glasses together. “Hello to you too, how are you doing this evening?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m wonderful, just hanging out with my friends and having a drink,” she replies, smirking. Adora gestures with her arms to showcase the space around her that was completely empty. She raises her glass and swirls her drink. “Glimmer’s my date, but I think she ditched me to go hang out with Mermista and Sea Hawk. I don’t know.” Adora furrows her eyebrows and takes another sip of her drink. She turns to face Perfuma, waving a hand. “Anyways, how are you? I haven’t seen you in a few months, and I have to say Perfuma, you look as radiant as always.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That gets another laugh out of Perfuma, and Adora beams. She doesn’t know why, but it makes her feel good when she can get people to laugh, it makes her warm in the chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m splendid! The beginning of spring is almost here, and I can’t wait until harvest season! Now that we’ve got more land this year, I’ve already made plans to grow more crops. I’m so happy, it’s going to be wonderful, Adora!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That does sound nice,” Adora sighs softly, nodding. Hopefully, that was enough of a reply to avoid the conversation topic, Adora didn’t want to exactly admit to Perfuma that she had no idea what a </span>
  <em>
    <span>crop</span>
  </em>
  <span> is. It was something that grew obviously, so did that mean people ate it? Or did they use it for something, like to wear?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully you’ll be able to come and see all of it in a couple of months! I could possibly throw you another feast! Oh, it’s a date!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora leans to touch Perfuma’s glass with her own, grinning. “It’s a date.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Adora first met Perfuma, one of the first few things she noticed was that little flowers would bloom on her hair or at her feet when she got excited. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So of course, with Perfuma being all happy and excited, there were flowers growing right beneath her feet, soft pastel pink and white roses too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They smelled absolutely amazing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches Perfuma bend down, delicately picking the biggest rose of the bunch - it’s a white one. “I think you look so gorgeous,” Perfuma comments again, tucking the flower into Adora’s hair, right above her ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can see a faint blush touching Perfuma’s cheeks as she does so. She has such a contagious smile, Adora can’t help but smile back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her knees feel weak too, is that bad?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Also, you should definitely wear red more often, I never knew it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> color! Don’t you agree Bow?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Wow, okay, Adora feels </span><em><span>very</span></em><span> hot, her throat is dry now. Taking a reasonable size of a sip, she watches as Perfuma’s eyes slowly look up and down at her and all of a sudden, Adora feels </span><em><span>very</span></em> <em><span>exposed.</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But like, definitely in a good way? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow lets out a quiet hiccup before humming in agreement. She can see a bright blush hinting on his cheeks, and he has a goofy smile also. He raises his glass, slowly blinking. “I think you look beautiful too, Adora.” He adds, twinding his and Perfuma’s arm together. “The gold jewlery really makes everything pop too, especially your blue eyes. You have such beautiful eyes too, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora, you really are beautiful. Oh, and I definitely like the necklace addition, it gives your neck a sharp cup, makes you look </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perfuma giggles, playfully hitting Bow’s chest. He laughs, bobbing his head as doing so. She leans in close to Adora, whispering, “He’s on his fourth glass of the night so far, I think I have to start taking care of him soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noooo, you won’t. I’m perfectly fine, and I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bow leans against her shoulder, nearly fumbling over his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay Bow! How about we get rid of your glass and go get you some water?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure, that sounds like a nice idea. Wait, have I drank any water tonight?? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both her and Perfuma watch with wide eyes as Bow immediately chugs the last of his drink. Straightening up, he places the campaign flute down on the table, glancing weary at Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, you’re looking absolutely beautiful tonight, Adora.” He says again, and Adora’s sure he doesn’t remember the last few comments he already told her. But, the genuine sincerity in his voice almost surprises her, she can’t help but smile. She reaches up to his face, and rubs his cheek. Her heart’s throbbing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Bow. And thank you too, Perfuma.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora opens her mouth to saymore, but she’s honestly at a loss for words. She’s never been - how do they say it - complimented before?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, hearing Bow and Perfuma say these words to her made her feel so warm and loved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora just didn’t know what to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perfuma lightly laughs, taking a hold of Adora’s hand. “You’re welcome, Adora. I hope you have a wonderful night, especially at one of your first parties. Now, I think I need a nice cup of refreshing ginger tea, and get this man some water. Will you please excuse me? Bow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, Perfuma leads Bow off towards the drinks. Bow looks over his shoulder, waving and smiling, happily in a daze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She waves back, watching as they both disappear into the crowd. Then, she lets out a heavy breath that she didn’t realize she was holding one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wow, it was really hot in here now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora decides to drink the rest of the campaign in her glass, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it was lukewarm, gross - she definitely liked it much better when it was cold. Smacking her lips together, Adora also figured out she didn’t really enjoy the after taste of it either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unsure of what to do, she sets the glass on the table beside her, quickly walking off before anyone notices.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, pardon me,” Adora whispers, carefully scooting by people. Unsurprisingly, she bumps into someone’s shoulder. They turn around with a glare, but Adora manages to scurry away before they can say anything. “Sorry, didn’t mean to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damnit, where the hell did Glimmer go? They came to the ball </span>
  <em>
    <span>together,</span>
  </em>
  <span> so why aren’t they hanging out together? It’s not like she was the one who disappeared, Glimmer literally ditched her. If Glimmer didn’t want to go with her, why’d she even ask?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora doesn’t know how long she’s been wandering around aimlessly, but she manages to grab a glass of water and a couple pieces of bread. It was her sixth piece of the night so far. Bread was just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>good!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She couldn’t believe she’d been missing out on this her entire life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shoving the last of the bread into her mouth, a flash of pink hair immediately catches Adora’s eyes, and she’s fast on her feet to not let it out of her sight. Glimmer’s standing beside Sea Hawk, both of their heads ducked down. They’re whispering about something, she can tell by how Glimmer is frantically looking around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t get in it if I were you,” she hears someone say behind her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Freezing, Adora slowly looks over her shoulder before fully turning, only to see Mermista leaning against a table. She has a bowl in her hand, picking at something green with a fork.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kelp and kale salad, you want some?” Mermista offers, holding the bowl out to her, and Adora’s quick to shake her head. She didn’t want to tell Mermista that she was full on just bread. “Okaaay, suit yourself. It’s super good though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’d you mean by not getting in it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora grabs another glass of campaign from a nearby table and stands beside Mermista. They’re both looking in the direction of their party dates - yes, Sea Hawk is Mermista’s date even if she says otherwise, there was no denying it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’ve been talking for like, twenty minutes by now, and it doesn’t look like they’re gonna stop anytime soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Talking about what? She had no idea what was happening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean? What are they talking about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, Glimmer’s been complaining all night about Bow and Perfuma. Talking about how Perfuma’s this really big bitch and how she stole Bow away from her and how she’s going to rip off Perfuma’s limps and dismember her entire body apart, all because she wants Bow all to herself. There, does that answer your question?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora, mouth completely gaped, feels the glass drop from her hands. Luckily, Mermista was quick to react by casually waving her hand, catching it with water. “Easy there, don’t be making a mess at the party now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, excuse me, what?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mermista takes another bite, chewing slowly. “Hmm?” She looks over at Adora with her eyebrows raised, amused. Still not answering, Mermista swallows her salad and takes the glass from the water, and sips from it before hanging it back to Adora which she takes, unaware of her arm even moving. Clearing her throat, Mermista has the audacity to take another bite.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mermista!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relaaaaax, wow sheesh, I was totally kidding, don’t make a big fuss over it.” She shrugs, taking her time chewing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once again, she doesn’t answer until she’s fully swallowed her entire bite. Adora can feel the annoyance building up inside her, but honestly, what’d she expect? This was Mermista. Adora should be used to her personality by now. Well, she was actually, but there were still moments that took her by surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I mean, Glimmer </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> been complaining about </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Mermista waves a hand in another direction, and Adora turns her head to see Bow and Perfuma standing with Netossa and Spinnerella, all of them laughing. She can almost hear Bow’s laughter ringing in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There are so many questions shooting through her head right now. “What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks from the group then over to Glimmer and Sea Hawk, back to the group, then to Glimmer, then to Mermista. She turns her entire body to Mermista, her eyebrows creased. Mermista takes another bite, chewing, Adora could hear the crunch of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things were not connecting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not following.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Groaning, Mermista takes another bite of her salad before placing the bowl on the table beside them. “Okay, you totally didn’t hear this from me, but I think Glimmer’s upset that Bow came to the  event with Perfuma and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> her. I don’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> she would even be upset, she just is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Adora trails off.  “Is that why she’s talking to Sea Hawk and not you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” she replies, making a popping sound with her lips. “I don’t mind it, of course. He’s usually the better one at these kinds of things, you know, parties and stuff. Well, when he’s not a dumbass and getting us kicked out.” Mermista’s eyes slowly settle on Sea Hawk across the room, and her face softens.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was something that connected for Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mermista was </span>
  <em>
    <span>caught.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora turns to her, smirking. “I see, so you do admit you take Sea Hawk to events, and to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of events. Sure sounds like he’s your plus one more often that you led me to believe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches as Mermista immediately realizes her mistake, nearly spitting her drink out. Abruptly coughing, Mermista bends over to lean on her knees for support. Adora, satisfied with the reaction, takes a small sip, patiently waiting for the cough attack to pass over. She almost wants to rub Mermista’s back for support, but - it was much more enjoyable to just watch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No no!” Mermista sputters, clearing her throat. “I mean,” she says, once composing herself. “Of course I take him to these events, but I mean, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them. Just to the, um, you know, the uh, the important events.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Important events? So that makes him important to you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora watches her freeze, desperately thinking of a response. This was definitely pleasing to do for her, but she didn’t want to get on Mermista’s bad side in the future. So Adora concludes to drop the topic, </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> to save Mermista from embarrassment though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our little secret.” Adora teases, grinning so widely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scoffing, Mermista playfully hits her in the shoulder. Adora rubs at her shoulder, and makes a face in agony, but there’s no pain at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up, we’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>involved</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if that’s what you’re thinking.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I-I didn’t say anything.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora holds Mermista’s gaze before there’s a loud groan from Mermista and Adora lets out a laugh from her chest. Nudging Mermista’s shoulder, Adora takes another sip from her drink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How have you been though? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of months.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t forget the conversation about Bow and Glimmer, but Adora also genuinely wanted to catch up with Mermista.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was... nice, to speak to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great honestly, ever since you fixed the gate, which thank you again by the way,” Mermista says, rolling her eyes. Adora doesn’t push it, knowing her well enough to simply accept it as it is. She lets a smile linger on her lips, and nudges Mermista’s shoulder again, giving her a look that says </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re welcome.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“People have slowly been flooding back into the kingdom, it’s a slow process, but it’s progress nonetheless. Perfuma has been helping me supply food, so that’s a plus, I guess you could say it’s nice having her around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds really amazing, I’m glad things are working out for you. As much as everyone used to think otherwise, it seems like everything works out in our favor when we all work together, don’t you agree?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Mermista’s lips curled upward. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ladies and gentlemen!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Adora and Mermista’s head snap in the direction of the voice, and yep, Adora definitely knew who it was. In the corner of her eye, she can see Mermista throw her head back, cursing. There’s a soft, “Noooooo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would like to present to you my next trick! This, I have been working on for weeks, and I’ve finally perfected it! Shimmer! If you could help me by setting those three balls on fire please!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, damnit,” Mermista murmurs, groaning. “Sorry to cut our conversation short, but I to go deal with my </span>
  <em>
    <span>ride</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and prevent him from setting the whole fucking place on fire. Plus, I want more kelp salad. Toodles, Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And off she goes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Honestly, even though she wasn’t hanging out with Bow and Glimmer all night, Adora was having a wonderful time. She was talking to Perfuma and Mermista, catching up and making jokes with them. They helped Adora take things off her mind, helped her relax and actually enjoy the party.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt so liberating to have friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I bet you would’ve liked to hear me to say that you’re a sight for sore eyes,” Adora hears someone call out from behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every muscle and fiber in her body freezes, and she feels her breath caught in her throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, fuck, fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d recognize that fucking voice </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But hate to break it to you, you’re honestly not. Aw, I hope you’re not disappointed in me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gritting her teeth, Adora turns to see Catra, and she can feel everything hit her all at once. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> was, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Catra</span>
  </em>
  <span>, just standing there in front of her, leaning against a pillar. She had such a smug smirk on her face, casually licking her lips after taking a sip. Her tail was flicking back and forth, as if she was out looking for prey - looking at Adora to play with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra can’t just fucking do this to her, she can’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But honestly? Adora wanted to just walk up to her and hug her - but memories of Catra from Salineas, from Thaymore flashed through her head. She had to bite down on her tongue to repress the emotions, to push </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was feeling away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Catra,” she barely whispers, the familiarity of it rolling off her tongue so easily. Adora has to force her legs to move, force herself to walk towards her. “What do you think you’re doing?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh you know, just having fun at this ‘party.’ That’s what they’re apparently called, and I’m kind of having a great time right now. How about you?” Catra replies, snickering. She takes a sip of her drink, letting out a satisfied hum.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It doesn’t affect Adora at all, if anything, she’s used to Catra’s sarcastic attitude towards everything. “I mean, what are you doing here? How did you even get in here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shrugging, Catra takes another sip of her glass before turning around. “I have my connections,” she casually says, like it’s even an answer. Catra walks to the edge of the balcony, looking beyond the kingdom with Adora right behind her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora joins by her side, carefully keeping her distance. She can feel all of her nerves telling her to run, but she doesn’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t want to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, do you remember Scorpia?” Catra says without looking at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, how was that relevant to the conversation? But she doesn’t, was she supposed to know who that person is? Taking Adora’s silence as a no, Catra rolls her eyes and presses on. “Well apparently, she’s a princess, I’m here as her plus one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was this.., supposed to somehow spark jealousy from Adora? Catra knowing a princess, maybe not an actual princess, but like, somewhat of a princess? Catra hated princesses, but here she was, talking about potentially being friends with a princess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra having friends?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora could feel something bubbling inside her, she couldn’t exactly place her tongue on it though. It didn’t… feel right in a way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Confused, Adora opens her mouth to speak but Catra cuts her off. “Yeah I know, I had no idea either. We both honestly didn’t know anything,” the last part was almost too quiet for Adora to hear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, I thought it’d be super fun to come here, to hang out with all of the princesses, your new best friends.” Catra doesn’t say it lightly, her tone has more of a snap to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It happened within a blink of an eye. Catra’s voice was soft and quiet, there wasn’t any restraint in it, no irritation or resentment. It was the first time she spoke of </span>
  <em>
    <span>them, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of </span>
  <em>
    <span>us. We.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Then, something changed and everything came back. There was anger laced in her voice, the constant annoyance Catra felt towards everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Towards Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s scary to Adora that she can say she’s almost used to that tone from Catra now. It’s been nearly six months since she left the Horde, since she left </span>
  <em>
    <span>Catra</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half a year since she’s been gone. She left </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stop it,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she had to tell herself. Quietly grunting, Adora takes a large sip of her drink, wincing as she forces it down. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop thinking about that. You made the right choice, face the truth.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right, she had to think straight, Adora had to have a clear head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a threat here. There were Horde officers </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Catra was literally right in front of her, the one who nearly destroyed Salineas’ Gate. Catra’s a force captain, and maybe Scorpia is too. But Catra’s literally been on missions to </span>
  <em>
    <span>hunt</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora down - she couldn’t be trusted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No matter what their relationship was. No matter what Adora felt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had a responsibility. She had a duty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re both staring still, Adora figures she has to play it cool. “You still didn’t answer me, why are you here, Catra?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told y-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I don’t believe you. Why are you here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scoffing, Catra turns her head to give her a glare. Adora doesn’t look at her though, it takes every ounce of her not to. “Not my problem you don’t believe me then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora watches as Catra tosses her glass over the edge, her eyes following it as it fell below. Something snaps inside her and Adora lets the glass slip from her hand. She lunges forward, taking a step towards Catra. She doesn’t flinch when she feels the glass shatter all over the floor, sharp pieces of glass flying past her legs, and neither does Catra.“I’m not asking again Catra. Why are you here?” She growls, grabbing Catra by the collar. Adora pushes her against the wall, glaring.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was losing her patience now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smirking, Catra holds her hands up in defense. She doesn’t struggle at all as Adora tightens her grip on her shirt. “Okay okay fine, you got me. Big bad Catra’s here to-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Princess Adora! What do you think you’re doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both of their heads snap in the direction, Adora immediately lets go of Catra. Backing away, she lets a curse under her breath, she’d been caught. She ignores Catra’s smirk, keeping a straight face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was Frosta, surrounded by several of her guards, ready to forcefully intervene if necessary. But behind her, there was an entire crowd looking at Adora as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yep, she’d definitely been caught.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Placing her hands behind her back, Adora opens her mouth to explain. But she closes it when Frosta holds a finger up, looking away. Adora digs her nails into her hand, knowing that Frosta won’t listen to her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> stubborn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Princess Prom has a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> strict policy on no violence whatsoever. I will not condone your behavior, no matter </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> you are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hostess, Catra is part of the Horde army. She’s plotting something, I know it, I have this feeling. Trust me, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her instincts were screaming that something was wrong, and as much as Adora hated admitting it, her instincts were never wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Request denied.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever pain Adora was putting herself through from her hands, she wasn’t feeling it at all. Pursing her lips, she tries once more, “Hostess, please liste-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Denied again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora has to take a deep breath before opening her mouth again. “This is serious, Hostess. Your kingdom could be in danger, Frosta. Please trust me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the answer Adora was wanting, it especially wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. Frosta was acting out of turn, she wasn’t considering the safety of her kingdom, the safety of her guests. She was only thinking about the ball.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t going to give up though, Frosta may be </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to keep the ball civilized or whatever, but Adora had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>duty</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And she wasn’t going to let </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> stop her from doing responsibility.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m warning you, Frosta. There’s something really bad happening, and you need to keep your guard up. People are going to get hurt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough! Now listen very carefully, if I were you, I would consider dropping whatever </span>
  <em>
    <span>feeling</span>
  </em>
  <span> you have against the guests, or my guards will happily escort you out of the ball. Have a good night Princess Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Frosta turns away, but freezes, giving Adora one last look. For a second, she thought Frosta would actually give her a chance to speak, but no. “Also, clean up your mess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches as Frosta quickly turns on her heels, walking away without batting a single eye at her. Her guards follow suit, and Adora watches as the crowd slowly looks away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gritting her teeth, she lets go of her hands, there’s a slight sting. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So fucking stubborn!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ugh, Adora wanted to let out all of her frustration penting up inside her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra lets out a forced laugh beside her, crossing her arms. “Ouch, that has to hurt, Adora. Man, those are some really good friends of yours, I’m so jealous that these are the people you left me for.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches as Catra turns around without looking back, and walks off. She doesn’t bother to give Adora a glance over the shoulder, nothing. She doesn’t follow Catra.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Forcing her eyes away, Adora sees Glimmer running up to her, worried. “What happened? Did Catra do something to you?” She bites her lip - how was she supposed to explain this to her? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m always going to have your back, no matter what. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Glimmer’s promise echoes in her head, reassuring her. Adora wasn’t alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, nothing happened. It was my fault, I was getting frustrated with Catra playing me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nope, that wasn’t the correct response at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, I don’t understand, what do you mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Glimmer, there’s something happening, they’re planning something. Catra and Scorpia. We have to keep an eye on them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Scorpia?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora shakes her head in response. She doesn’t exactly know </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> Scorpia is, and she doesn’t know how much of a threat she is, but Catra wouldn’t have tagged along with her if she wasn’t useful, smart, capable of handling herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go find her, are you okay dealing with Catra again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora looks away, knowing her eyes would reveal the truth. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. Go find Scorpia.” Glimmer reluctantly nods, teleporting away, the faintest smell of vanilla and lavender in her place. Adora turns, ignoring the mess of broken glass on the ground, she’d deal with it later - if not, never, honestly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were far more important matters to deal with right now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Adora wasn’t such a </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice</span>
  </em>
  <span> person, she would’ve told Frosta to go fuck herself, but Adora’s better than that. She has to be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She is She Ra after all, has an </span>
  <em>
    <span>image </span>
  </em>
  <span>to uphold, a promise to Etheria, a responsibility.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora quietly treads past a table where Mermista and Sea Hawk are seated. She can hear Sea Hawk call out her name, but she ignores it. She can’t be distracted, not when Catra’s here. Especially not when everyone’s in danger </span>
  <em>
    <span>because</span>
  </em>
  <span> of Catra.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She glances across the room, panting. No sign, nothing. Her lungs feel like they’re going to collapse in on themselves, but she pushes forward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Where? Where did she go?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra wouldn’t be here, </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> in Frosta’s kingdom if there wasn’t going to be a Horde attack. That meant everyone here could potentially be in danger - all of the princesses were here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora had to backtrack - </span>
  <em>
    <span>all of the princesses were here.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was the plan, wasn’t it? She can feel all of the color drop from her face, her breath caught in her throat. There were so many princesses here, surely Catra wouldn’t be dumb and try to capture all of them, or even take them all at once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unless the Horde was here?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No way, it’s not possible. Frosta’s Kingdom had the best defenses compared to anyone else. Besides, Princess Prom was located on a floating iceberg, literally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Damnit, what the hell was Catra’s plan?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heeyy, Adora.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora definitely had moments where she might’ve made the wrong decision sometimes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was probably one of her top three - just hanging off the side of a cliff, with a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>hairclip </span>
  </em>
  <span>to keep her from falling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe in the future some people may say this was one of her best moments, but right now, she was having a bad time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could feel her arm going numb, the achness had disappeared a while back. There were trickles of sweat running down her face, Adora could feel her entire body shaking. She didn’t know just how long she’d been hanging there, but it was long enough for the Horde’s ship engines to disappear. She watched them fly away, could hear them until she couldn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora couldn’t tell if it had been ten minutes, twenty, or even thirty, but surely, someone would’ve noticed she’s missing by now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone would come searching for her, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Please let there be someone actually looking for her, please. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clenching her teeth, fresh tears well up in her eyes again. She was so stupid! She’d been so distracted with Catra that she had forgotten about everyone else, about Bow and Glimmer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Catra</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could she? How could she capture her friends? How could she just betray Adora like this?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Quietly sobbing to herself, Adora wipes the tears away. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course Catra would do this. Of course Catra would use this to her advantage.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the perfect opportunity - everyone’s guard was low, it was a protected and sacred ball which meant very little to no security, and no one had their weapons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The realization immediately hits her, and Adora can’t stop the amount of guilt washing over her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No one had their weapons.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck!” Adora screams. Her cry echoes and she screams again, she screams until her throat feels raw. Her chest hurts so badly, but it’s almost as if she doesn’t feel the pain throbbing in her lungs or weighing on her heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had her sword, and they had Bow and Glimmer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adore was so fucking useless now. She thought she was stupid before? Well now she’s a fucking dumbass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I heard her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tiredly looking up, she squints and sees green vines extending out over the edge of the castle. “I see her! I found her! Adora, hang on!” Adora can feel her entire body start to relax as Perfuma quickly lowers herself towards her, reaching out. She barely has enough strength to reach upwards, but she tried to do so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perfuma is right beside her within seconds, gently grabbing a hold of her hand. Adora’s body sags, going completely limp against her. It’s as if she can finally breathe now, and all of the weight simply falls off her shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lets her body relax after what felt like hours of holding herself together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s not alone anymore, they found her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As if Perfuma can tell what she’s feeling - which Adora’s pretty confident she can, she hears her whisper, “I’ve got you, you’re okay, you’re okay.” Perfuma wraps an arm around her ever so delicately.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t want to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>So warm,</span>
  </em>
  <span> so comforting, she thought, closing her eyes. Adora rests her head against Perfuma’s shoulder as they slowly make their way back up to the top. Perfuma doesn’t go too fast, which Adora’s grateful for, she didn’t think her stomach could handle it honestly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they reach the top, everything after happens too quickly, she’s barely able to process it all. From Mermista and Sea Hawk running up to her and asking her a series of questions to Entrapta nearly setting off another bomb from the scraps of the explosion. She remembers telling them, “They took Bow and Glimmer, and they have my sword,” before shutting down. It was all too much for Adora to handle, she couldn’t think properly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora couldn’t breathe almost, everyone was closing in around her. It was suffocating her. She couldn’t process everything, not when she was being bombarded. She had to remove herself from the small crowd, walking over to a bench near a bonfire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes were fixed on the fire, carefully watching as a piece of wood broke in half. It ignites the fire, sparks flying in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All she could think about was how guilty she felt, how she was to blame for the entire thing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I failed. It was my fault.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My fault, all my fault. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They came here only because I was here. They wanted to get to me, so they captured Bow and Glimmer. And they have my sword. My fucking sword!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora watches as Perfuma slowly walks over to her, wrapping a blanket around her. She places a small cup of hot tea next to her, bending down to look up at Adora. “It’s okay,” she whispers, Adora barely heard her voice. It was as if it was a whistle from the wind. Perfuma’s hand reaches out to grab Adora’s, the small touch is more comforting than she realizes. Adora can feel the sting of tears in her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you’re okay. It’s not your fault, Adora.” Perfuma soothes, her other hand rubbing her back. “We’re going to get them back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It sounds like a promise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perfuma was right, of course. They were going to get Bow and Glimmer, they were going to save them from the Horde. No matter what it took, they were going to come back home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Psst! Perfuma!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora can only assume it’s Mermista</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be right back,” Perfuma says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t say anything in response, her throat hurts too much honestly. But she ends up grabbing the cup of tea, and cups it in her hands, relishing in its warmth. She doesn’t know where Perfuma walked off to, but she suspects it’s to talk to Mermista and Sea Hawk because of the conversation she barely makes out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as I find it very comforting and heartwarming that you guys won’t leave Adora alone, I want to suggest that we should just give her some time alone.” She hears Perfuma whisper to the three of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t leave her alone, this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adora</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we’re talking about. I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to leave her alone, you’re not talking me out of this Fume.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Count me in that also, I stand with her. We shall not leave her alone!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shuuut up, will you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay. Then please don’t try to force anything out of her, she’s going through a lot right now. I can feel all of the negativity emitting from her right now, and it’s kind of rubbing me wrong too. Just don’t push her too much, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh we’ll be fine Perfuma. I’ll take care of dear ole lassie over here, she’ll be top notch ready to go in no time!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, do you not remember the conversation we just had, literally like five minutes ago? I’m going to need you to stop that. There’s too much going on that I can’t handle you too. This is exactly why you’re not sitting anywhere near her. Otherwise you’ll be in timeout, and you’re already pushing my fins tonight. So no more pushing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, hello! Can I join you guys? I’d like to ask her a few questions about these bombs!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aaaabsolutely not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello Entrapta, and I think it’d be best if you didn’t do that, Adora’s already under a lot of pressure right now, we don’t want to push her over the edge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pleassee? I have so many questions to ask! Pluuuus, it’d be helpful to know about the Horde’s technology before we go to the Fright Zone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay sheesh, fine. You get three questions, geek princess, two. No more after that, deal?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Yes! Yes!! I mean, yes, thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now there’s an unexpected voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora doesn’t glance over to see who it is, but she has a feeling of who it might be. She just keeps her eyes lingering on the fire, the warmth is slowly making her cheeks red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” she hears Mermista murmur. There’s a heavy silence after that, Adora can make out the noise of awkward feet shuffling around. “It’s you. Come to scream at her again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mermista, please, that wasn’t necessary.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! I mean, no, I’m here to apologize. If I can, I’d like to speak to Princess Adora alone, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh sure? But you’re going to have to talk to her in front of us, no way am I leaving her alone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, if that’s the best compromise I can get, I’ll take it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment later, Frosta’s made her way over to her, standing off to the side. She doesn’t say anything, and neither does Adora. Sighing, Frosta slowly makes her way beside Adora, and sits down on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The words hang in the air, deafening everything else in the world. Adora doesn’t really hear the fire crackling anymore, just the pounding of her heart in her chest. She’s breathing, but she can’t feel any air inside her lungs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can’t leave Frosta unanswered too long, it’s just too much weight to put on someone after they’ve built up the courage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Adora says softly. She doesn’t put much force into her words because honestly, she’s not angry with Frosta. Not anymore at least. She’s more angry with herself for letting things get this far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t exactly how she had imagined the confrontation with Frosta to be like, but then again, Adora was never the kind to rub the truth into someone’s face. As much as she was right, she didn’t want to dwell on putting any amount of guilt onto someone, no matter what happened. And no matter who they were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears Frosta huff, and Adora sees her bring up her hands to her face. “But it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Frosta groans, burrowing her face into her hands. Her voice is muffled when speaking. “Nothing about any of this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Nothing about what I did and said is okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it isn’t,” is all Adora can say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But -</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The question hung in the air, weighing on her. She could feel it sagging on her shoulders, crushing her soul.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But I need to go save my friends. I need to make things okay again, it’s my responsibility to take care of everyone. I have to get them back.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, for everything.” Frosta repeated, forcing Adora out of her trance. “I didn’t believe you when I should’ve. My kingdom was almost destroyed because I cared too much about Princess Prom, too much about my </span>
  <em>
    <span>pride.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I put everyone in danger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I put everyone in danger</span>
  </em>
  <span>, echoed in Adora’s head. She shuts her eyes, slowly releasing a deep breath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Just breathe</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she has to tell herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can’t back down, she won’t. The Horde has her best friends, they’re either going to be tortured for information or used for ransom, and Adora’s not going to let any of that happen. She may not have the sword, but even </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> isn’t going to stop her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Frosta. Everything’s going to be okay, I’m going to go save them.” Adora reassures, trying to smile. She needs to be confident in herself, she doesn’t have Bow and Glimmer here to help her with that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She needs to figure this out on her own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh, yeah right. More like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to go get them back. I mean, of course we are, since we’re the Princess Alliance, duh.” Mermista says from behind, and both Adora and Frosta whip their heads.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There they were, standing in a formation of ultimate glory, Adora’s smile can’t grow anymore, so it softens.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m not alone. I have my friends here.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, not just because we’re the Princess Alliance, they’re also our friends!” Perfuma says, clutching her chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk swoops in and wraps his arms around Perfuma and Mermista’s neck. Perfuma giggles, a hand coming to cover her mouth. Mermista rolls her eyes, but smiles anyway, amused. Entrapta awkwardly plays with the ends of her hair, her presence is supportive enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Let’s go! We’re going to save them! Onward, rally to the courtyard!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora stands up, the blanket falling to her ankles. Warmth and comfort builds in her chest, and she holds onto it tightly. She promises to herself to never let go of the feeling. “Let’s go save our friends.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was settled. Things were moving, all of the pieces were in motion.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't know, it's just very intense mutual love between all of the characters, I love it. When there's so much love, it creates this powerful dynamic, and it's really fun to write. I know I went heavy into the Frosta confrontation, but let me say, growth baby! </p><p>I also want to say, all of the characters are aged up - like I have an entire chart of ages / birthdays, so everyone's legal, no underage drinking!!</p><p>also, I know there wasn't much catradora convo, I didn't really want to get into it. I think I'll be skipping 'no princess left behind,' but who knows.</p><p>but thank you guys so much for reading!! I hope you're liking it, I'd very much appreciate any feedback or comments!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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